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Title: Ellenroad Ring Mill, Newhey, during demolition - MIC00102
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Title
Ellenroad Ring Mill, Newhey, during demolition - MIC00102
Description
In the late 1880's the Ellenroad spinning Company was formed to respond to the boom in the cotton trade. They turned to the well respected Oldham architects, Scott & Sons, to managed the design and construction.
The mill was a modern "fireproof" structure of five storeys, 100 yards long and 50 yards wide with a conditioning cellar and warehouse. It accommodated 99,756 mule spindles made by Platts of Oldham with drawing frames and carding machines.
The engine house was a separate building. The company went to the local firm of J&W McNaught for the steam engine and chose a triple-expansion horizontal engine. This gave the greatest efficiency in terms of power per ton of coal. Steam was raised by five Lancashire boilers which needed a 220ft chimney to provide enough draft.
In 1892 the engines were named Victoria and Alexandra and the first cotton was produced.
In 1916 a fire broke out that destroyed the whole of the cotton mill except for the engine house, boiler house and chimney stack. The decision was taken to rebuild the mill and install Ring Spinning frames.
The Ellenroad Ring Spinning Mill re-opened in 1921 powered by its mighty 3000 horsepower twins, Victoria and Alexandra. The flywheel, 28 feet in diameter and weighing over 80 tons, provided the drive through 44 ropes to line shafts on five floors of the mill. All the boilers were replaced with new Lancashires, raising steam at 180 pounds per square inch.
The mill machinery continued to be powered by the 3000hp engines until electrification of the mill in 1975, when this, the last of the great steam engines of the Lancashire cotton age, was stopped for the last time. The mill survived only a few years until 1985 when it was demolished. However, the engines and boiler house, including a Lancashire boiler and the 220-foot high chimney, were saved.
The mill was a modern "fireproof" structure of five storeys, 100 yards long and 50 yards wide with a conditioning cellar and warehouse. It accommodated 99,756 mule spindles made by Platts of Oldham with drawing frames and carding machines.
The engine house was a separate building. The company went to the local firm of J&W McNaught for the steam engine and chose a triple-expansion horizontal engine. This gave the greatest efficiency in terms of power per ton of coal. Steam was raised by five Lancashire boilers which needed a 220ft chimney to provide enough draft.
In 1892 the engines were named Victoria and Alexandra and the first cotton was produced.
In 1916 a fire broke out that destroyed the whole of the cotton mill except for the engine house, boiler house and chimney stack. The decision was taken to rebuild the mill and install Ring Spinning frames.
The Ellenroad Ring Spinning Mill re-opened in 1921 powered by its mighty 3000 horsepower twins, Victoria and Alexandra. The flywheel, 28 feet in diameter and weighing over 80 tons, provided the drive through 44 ropes to line shafts on five floors of the mill. All the boilers were replaced with new Lancashires, raising steam at 180 pounds per square inch.
The mill machinery continued to be powered by the 3000hp engines until electrification of the mill in 1975, when this, the last of the great steam engines of the Lancashire cotton age, was stopped for the last time. The mill survived only a few years until 1985 when it was demolished. However, the engines and boiler house, including a Lancashire boiler and the 220-foot high chimney, were saved.
Creator
Michael Clarke
Source
Pennine Heritage
Date
1980s
Rights
PHDA - Michael Clarke Collection
Identifier
MIC00102.tif
Collection
Citation
Michael Clarke, “Ellenroad Ring Mill, Newhey, during demolition - MIC00102,” Pennine Horizons Digital Archive, accessed April 25, 2024, https://penninehorizons.org/items/show/30667.
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