Clarence Mill
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 Location within Cheshire
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| Cotton | |
|---|---|
| Spinning (mule mill) | |
| Structural system | 1841 Fireproof ground floor (blowing room) 1854 Fireproof throughout 1877 Mill, Stotts 1871 patent double brick arch in rolled iron beams |
| Serving canal | Macclesfield Canal |
| Serving railway |
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway 1872 , North Staffordshire Railway Marple to Macclesfield Branch |
| Owner | Martin Swindell |
| Further ownership |
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| Coordinates | 53°18′03″N 2°06′02″W / 53.3008°N 2.1005°WCoordinates: 53°18′03″N 2°06′02″W / 53.3008°N 2.1005°W |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1834, 1841, 1856, 1877 |
| Floor count | 5 |
| Design team | |
| Architecture Firm | (1877 mill) A H Stott & Son |
| Power | |
| Date | 1841, 1877 |
| Engine maker | (1877) W & J Galloway & Sons |
| Equipment | |
| Date | 1877 & various |
| Manufacturer | Asa Lees |
| Cotton count | Fine for lace |
| Mule Frames | 53000 spindles (1939) 27000 ring doublers(1939) |
| References | |
| Callandine & Fricker 1993, p. 107 Holden & Fricker 1998, p. 218 | |
Clarence Mill is a five storey former cotton spinning mill in Bollington, Cheshire, in England. It was built between 1834 and 1877 for the Swindells Family of Bollington. Clarence Mill was built alongside the Macclesfield Canal which opened in 1831.
Clarence Mill was built alongside the Macclesfield Canal, on Clarence Road to the north of the village of Bollington. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Manchester by road.
The Swindells family dominated cotton spinning in Bollington. The operated or owned Ingersley Vale Mill from 1821, Rainow Mill from 1822 both until 1841. They were at the Higher and Lower Mill from 1832 until 1859 and at the Waterhouse Mill from 1841. They built the Clarence Mill with their partners the Brooke family in 1834, and extended it in 1841, 1854 and 1877. The Greg family from Quarry Bank Mill and later Reddish bought the Lower House Mill in 1832. The Swindells went on to build the Adelphi Mill in 1856.
The 1834 mill consisted of an engine house with detached chimney, a five storey spinning mill and a two storey 60m by 11m weaving shed. The weaving shed housed 320 looms arranged in rows of four across the building. These consisted of one loom 2.7 m wide and three 2.1m wide with a central 0.9 m alley and two wall alleys of 0.4 m. The spinning mill housed twelve mules with 6000 spindles, these would be a mixture and hand operated mules and self- actors. Self- actors could not produce the finest counts at this time. The floor separation is 3.2m. This mill was demolished to make way for the 1877 Stott mill.
In 1841 a further 5 storey spinning mill was added, an identical weaving shed, a new boiler house and second chimney, and a gas retort. This was 20 bays long and built to house eight pairs of spinning mules on the third and fourth storey. It was of hammer-dressed sandstone with green and Welsh slate roof.
Another 15 bay spinning mill was added in 1854, this has a door lintel inscribed 'BROOKS SWINDELLS 1854' . This mill was 16m wide which enabled it to house state of the art self acting mules with the maximum number of spindles, two years later Adelphi mill was built at 26m to house even larger mules.
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Wikipedia