Bancroft Mill
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Bancroft Shed was a
weaving shed A weaving shed is a distinctive type of mill developed in the early 1800s in Lancashire, :Derbyshire and Yorkshire to accommodate the new power looms weaving cotton, silk, woollen and worsted. A weaving shed can be a stand-alone mill, or a ...
in
Barnoldswick Barnoldswick (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. It is within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, Barnoldswick and the surrounding areas of West Craven have been a ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England, situated on the road to
Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...
. Construction was started in 1914 and the shed was commissioned in 1920 for James Nutter & Sons Limited. The mill closed on 22 December 1978 and was demolished. The engine house,
chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
s and
boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...
s have been preserved and maintained as a working steam museum. The mill was the last steam-driven weaving shed to be constructed and the last to close. The engine house is open to visitors and the William Roberts cross compound 600hp engine regularly runs from steam generated from donated wood.


Location

Bancroft Shed was the last
weaving shed A weaving shed is a distinctive type of mill developed in the early 1800s in Lancashire, :Derbyshire and Yorkshire to accommodate the new power looms weaving cotton, silk, woollen and worsted. A weaving shed can be a stand-alone mill, or a ...
to be built in
Barnoldswick Barnoldswick (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. It is within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, Barnoldswick and the surrounding areas of West Craven have been a ...
, which had twelve others. It is midway between
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
and
Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...
and north of
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, in altitude in the Pennine hills. In 1920 this industrial town had a population of 10,000 people and there were 24,000 looms.
Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, in 1974 Barnoldswick and a number of surrounding villages were transferred to the
Borough of Pendle Pendle is a local government district and borough of Lancashire, England. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley, the North Yorkshire district of Craven and the West Yorkshire boroughs of Calderdale and Bradford. It has ...
in the
Non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...
of Lancashire as a result of the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
. The town is located on the edge of the Yorkshire wool district and the Lancashire cotton weaving district.


History

James Nutter had space at Calf Hall Shed, a
room and power mill A room and power mill was a type of textile mill found in Lancashire, England, in the 19th century. Small businesses paid the owner rent for space for their machines and power from the mill engine or waterwheel. The system In, for example Nelson, ...
, while his mill was built. His mill was designed by W M Atkins of
Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...
in 1914, but construction was suspended because of the
Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The weaving shed was completed in 1920 and the opening ceremony was performed in March 1920. About 50
Lancashire loom The Lancashire Loom was a semi-automatic power loom invented by James Bullough and William Kenworthy in 1842. Although it is self-acting, it has to be stopped to recharge empty shuttles. It was the mainstay of the Lancashire cotton industry for a ...
s were installed and weavers from Calf Hall were brought in on a standard wage to loom-in. In 1920, most four-loom weavers were on
piece work Piece work (or piecework) is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time. Context When paying a worker, employers can use various methods and combinations of ...
and were expected to weave six pieces each of a week for 6 s each. Bedding in a new shed was too problematic, however, to rely on piece work wages, so a standard wage was paid. When all the looms were installed and everything was running six weeks later, the company reverted to the ''Uniform List of Weaving Prices''. The shed opened with part of the first double row of looms closest to the warehouse, eventually 80 pairs of looms on this row ran from one cross shaft. Eventually there were 19 cross shafts. Opening in 1920, Bancroft Shed missed the profitable years. During the Great War, Britain lost much of its export market, and only the most specialised weaving sheds survived.


More looms system

Increased efficiency was sought, four-loom weavers were encouraged to work six or more looms. This was the ''more looms system'', which reduced the number of weavers required. The looms were slowed from 220 picks per minute to 180 by changing the diameter of the pulleys. Elsewhere this caused industrial action, but here management maintained the four loom system in most of the mill. Additional power was required in the 1940s and a supplementary
Cornish boiler A shell or flued boiler is an early and relatively simple form of boiler used to make steam, usually for the purpose of driving a steam engine. The design marked a transitional stage in boiler development, between the early haystack boilers and ...
was installed. In 1935, 450 people were working at the mill running 1,152 looms for 50 hours a week making of grey cloth. During the 1939–45 war, many empty weaving sheds in Lancashire were requisitioned;
Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...
and
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
moved into Barnoldswick. An extra layer of management was imposed on the industry when the Cotton Control Board was set up by the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
. Labour and all resources were rationed. James Nutter took action to close his businesses at Grove Mill and Westfield Shed and moved his looms into storage at Bancroft. This reduced his operable looms to 500 at exactly the time he was required by the Cotton Control Board to reduce output to 40%. While other firms collapsed, Nutters wove throughout the war. From a high point of 808,797 looms nationally in 1915, the numbers had fallen to 530,000 in 1939 and plummeted to 220,000 in 1941 rising marginally to 355,500 in 1949. Under Board of Trade control, working conditions for the weavers improved and the average wage increased from 31s 5d to 78s 0d. On 19 August 1941 a minimum wage agreement was signed. The existence of aero-engine manufacturers in the town provided alternative employment in cleaner conditions. When the war ended weavers expected better working conditions, but the more looms system became almost universal. Bancroft weavers worked eight-loom sets, then ten sets.
Tackler A tackler was a supervisor in a textile factory responsible for the working of a number of power looms and the weavers who operated them. The title derived from the job, which was to "tackle" any mechanical problems encountered with the looms in ...
s' sets were reduced from 140 to 70 to cope with extra work. Conditions eased in the 1950s, mill lighting was changed from 110 V DC to 250 V AC. Mechanical Proctor coking stokers were fitted to the Lancashire boiler. The looms were re-spaced into ten sets with a separating alley, though a row of eight sets was retained as a "Pensioner Side". Opinion varied as whether a ten set produced as much cloth as an eight set run by an experienced weaver. In 1976 production consisted of contract weaving and part warps. Experienced weavers and tacklers recognised that demand was drying up and left. In September 1978 closure was announced. The mill struggled until 22 December when it finally closed. Demolition began the following year.


Mill


Architecture

The mill consisted of a two-storey warehouse, a boiler room and engine shed with a large single-storey weaving shed. On closure in 1979, the warehouse and weaving shed were demolished. A chimney was situated to the west and a by
lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...
to the south. Following demolition of the shed, the lodge was filled in and the line of the road altered. The large Lancashire boiler is kept full of water from the roof gutters, and is used in the condenser (under the engine) and as feed water for the Cornish boiler. As originally built, the weaving shed was about by , set into the hillside with typical north facing roof lights to provide natural light, it housed 1200 looms. On the west side was the boiler room and engine house, and the warehouse was to the south. The ground floor was the warehouse and the upper floor was for preparation,
sizing Sizing or size is a substance that is applied to, or incorporated into, other materials—especially papers and textiles—to act as a protective filler or glaze. Sizing is used in papermaking and textile manufacturing to change the absorption ...
, drawing in and winding.


Power

Steam was raised by a
Lancashire boiler A shell or flued boiler is an early and relatively simple form of boiler used to make steam, usually for the purpose of driving a steam engine. The design marked a transitional stage in boiler development, between the early haystack boilers and t ...
and in 1947, when the warehouse needed extra steam for sizing, a
Cornish boiler A shell or flued boiler is an early and relatively simple form of boiler used to make steam, usually for the purpose of driving a steam engine. The design marked a transitional stage in boiler development, between the early haystack boilers and ...
was added but disconnected in 1948 because of problems sharing the same flue. A Green's
economiser Economizers (US and Oxford spelling), or economisers (UK), are mechanical devices intended to reduce energy consumption, or to perform useful function such as preheating a fluid. The term economizer is used for other purposes as well. Boiler, po ...
preheated the feedwater. The boiler was stoked manually, until a Proctor
automatic stoker A mechanical stoker is a mechanical system that feeds solid fuel like coal, Coke (fuel), coke or anthracite into the Industrial furnace, furnace of a steam boiler. They are common on steam locomotives after 1900 and are also used on ships and powe ...
was fitted in the 1930s. Steam was raised to 160 psi. On closure in 1979, the Lancashire boiler required work, and the Cornish boiler that had been unused for 30 years was renovated, fired up and certificated. It is steamed at 50 psi, powered by donated scrap wood, to drive the engine on Heritage Steam Days.UK Heritage Hub Issue 20 19 April 2013 Bancroft Mill Engine Museum - Part 6 HARRY MOORE. C. ENG. As this was a single boiler shed, it has a chimney to provide the pressure difference needed to draw the air into the boiler. The Bancroft chimney was repaired and 'banded' by
Fred Dibnah Frederick Travis Dibnah, (29 April 1938 – 6 November 2004) was an English steeplejack and television personality, with a keen interest in mechanical engineering, who described himself as a "backstreet mechanic". When Dibnah w ...
in 1997. The Bancroft mill engine is a horizontal cross compound
Corliss valve Corliss is both a surname and a given name. People Given name * Corliss Lamont (1902–1995), American philosopher, political activist, and philanthropist * C. C. Moseley (1894–1974), American aviator and aviation businessman * Corliss Palmer ( ...
condensing steam engine built 1914 and installed by William Roberts of Nelson in 1920. As was traditional, the cylinders were named, the high-pressure cylinder "James", and the low-pressure "Mary Jane". Together they were rated to at 600 ihp, enough for 1200 0.5 hp looms, the rating was conservative and the engine could deliver more power if needed. Its speed is 68 rpm controlled by a Porter type governor and a Lumb regulator acting on the high-pressure cylinder valves and Dobson-type trip gear is fitted. The high-pressure cylinder (HP) has a bore and the low-pressure (LP) ; both have a stroke of . It uses Corliss valves.


Gallery

File:Cornish boiler, Bancroft Mill - geograph.org.uk - 1624951.jpg, The Cornish boiler File:Bancroft Mill, economiser and engine - geograph.org.uk - 1627652.jpg, The telltale chains and wheels of an
economiser Economizers (US and Oxford spelling), or economisers (UK), are mechanical devices intended to reduce energy consumption, or to perform useful function such as preheating a fluid. The term economizer is used for other purposes as well. Boiler, po ...
File:Bancroft Mill engine at speed - geograph.org.uk - 680971.jpg, Bancroft Mill Engine running without load on 50 psi File:Barnoldswick - Bancroft Shed Engine House - geograph.org.uk - 531165.jpg, The low pressure "Mary Jane" engine File:Chimney, Bancroft Mill - geograph.org.uk - 1343942.jpg, The tall chimney, brick with oversailing caps


Weaving equipment

When yarn enters a weaving mill on different-sized cops and cheeses, it is rewound on to
pirn A Pirn is a rod onto which weft thread is wound for use in weaving. Unlike a bobbin, it is fixed in place, and the thread is delivered off the end of the pirn rather than from the centre. A typical pirn is made of wood or plastic and is slight ...
s to fit the shuttles used by the looms. Bancroft Shed bought its weft "shuttle ready" on pirns in 1920; there was no winding on site. Pirning was started and, in 1970, the mill used Britoba pirn winders. The pirns were carried in two types of shuttles. The original kissing shuttles caused health scares and were replaced by self-threading shuttles. Warp is taken from 300 bobbins on a V-shaped frame and wound onto a beam. Four or five beams are merged to make the 2000 end beam required, and placed in the Cylinder Tape
Sizing Machine Sizing or size is a substance that is applied to, or incorporated into, other materials—especially papers and textiles—to act as a protective filler or glaze. Sizing is used in papermaking and textile manufacturing to change the absorption ...
like ones made by
Howard & Bullough Howard & Bullough was a firm of textile machine manufacturers in Accrington, Lancashire. The company was the world's major manufacturer of power looms in the 1860s. History The firm of Howard and Bleakley was founded in 1851 with four workers ...
Ltd. of
Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
. The threads pass through size to stiffen them and reduce friction. The size is a mixture of flour, soft soap and tallow: specific to the mill. The threads are dried over steam-heated cylinders and wound onto the weavers beam. The weavers beam is placed on a
drawing-in frame A drawing-in frame was a piece of equipment used in the cotton industry Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family M ...
, where each end is passed through the
heald Heald is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Heald (born 1944), American actor * Brad Heald (born 1983), Australian bass guitarist * Chloe Heald, British TV personality and Playboy model * Clare Heald (1895–1973), Englis ...
s, and then through a
reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...
. This job was done by a ''reacher-in'' and a ''loomer''. The reacher-in, usually a young boy, passed each end in order to the loomer, who threaded it through the healds and reeds. The mill had two drawing-in frames. Alternatively, if the loom had already run that cloth, a short length of warp thread could be left on the healds and reed. A ''twister'' would knot the threads and draw it through. A Barber-Colman knotter could tie in warp threads to the new beam, much faster than a twister. This process took 20 minutes, considerably faster than starting afresh. The loomed weavers beam was taken into the weaving shed, where a weaver would tenter four Lancashire Looms working at 220 picks per minute. The beam was gaited to the loom and kept working by a tackler who tentered 130. With the More Looms system brought in after the second war, weavers tentered ten looms, but the tackler had a set of 70.


Gallery

File:Queen Street Mill - Beaming Frame - geograph.org.uk - 531481.jpg, Bobbins for beaming frame (at
Queen Street Mill Queen Street Mill is a former weaving mill in Harle Syke, a suburb to the north-east of Burnley, Lancashire, that is a It was built in 1894 for the Queen Street Manufacturing Company. It closed on 12 March 1982 and was mothballed, but was su ...
, Burnley) File:Queen Street Mill - Cylinder Sizing Machine - geograph.org.uk - 528575.jpg, Cylinder sizer (at Queen Street Mill, Burnley) File:Queen Street Mill - Drawing in or Looming Frame - geograph.org.uk - 528577.jpg, Drawing-in frame (at Queen Street Mill, Burnley)


See also

*
Cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...
*
Helmshore Mills Textile Museum Helmshore Mills are two mills built on the River Ogden in Helmshore, Lancashire. Higher Mill was built in 1796 for William Turner, and Whitaker's Mill was built in the 1820s by the Turner family. In their early life they alternated between work ...
*
Queen Street Mill Queen Street Mill is a former weaving mill in Harle Syke, a suburb to the north-east of Burnley, Lancashire, that is a It was built in 1894 for the Queen Street Manufacturing Company. It closed on 12 March 1982 and was mothballed, but was su ...
*
Textile manufacturing Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
*
List of mills in Lancashire This is an incomplete list of the cotton and other textile mills that were located within the modern-day boundaries of the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. The first mills were built in the 1760s, in Derbyshire using the Richard Ark ...


References


Footnotes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


External links


Bancroft Mill Engine Trust
- museum site
Bancroft Shed by Daniel Meadows (video) 5min 28sec
{{Borough of Pendle buildings Cotton mills Textile mills in Lancashire Museums in Lancashire Steam museums in England Textile museums in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in the Borough of Pendle Barnoldswick Cotton industry in England Preserved stationary steam engines