Arden Mill, Bredbury

Arden Mill

Bredbury, Cheshire

Arden Mill is situated on Arden Rd, Bredbury, by the river Tame. Arden Rd leaves Ashton Rd by the Arden Arms public house, the road being paved with gritstone setts.

In 1812 a gang of men attacked Arden Corn Mill. Apparently, they were Luddites and it seems as though their plan was to acquire flour made there using machinery. The miller at the time was Joseph Clay and, after threatening him, they removed the flour and sold it cheaply to people living close by. The militia, in the form of the Scots Greys, was summoned and they arrested four men, Thomas Burgess (35), a collier from Bredbury, Thomas Etchells (34), Samuel Lees (32), and James Ratcliffe (22), all hatters from Denton. In spite of being shot at, a fifth man, Nathan Howard, managed to escape by jumping over the mill weir. He later emigrated to evade capture and punishment.

The four men appeared before magistrates at Stockport where they were committed for trial at Chester, along with another 18 men who had been captured at Bolton, Congleton, Hyde and Wilmslow. All but two were convicted and the four men who attacked Arden Corn Mill were each fined one shilling and sentenced to seven years transportation to a penal colony. The prisoners were taken from Chester to Woolwich where they were handed over to the master of the Retribution Hulk and at this point they disappeared from history.

The Luddite Movement This movement began in 1811 and it ended in 1813. It was led by an imaginary character called General Ludd (also known as Captain Ludd or King Ludd) who was based on the earlier real Ned Ludd who was attributed with destroying stocking frames in 1779. This movement was mainly concerned with destroying textile machinery but, as can be seen in this instance, they did attempt industrial sabotage by other means. Civil and industrial disturbances did not stop with the Luddites. There was the Pentrich Rising in Derbyshire on the night of the 9/10 Jun 1817 and the Swing Riots of rural workers in the south and east of England in 1830. Up until the 1840s there was general unrest as the process of industrialisation gathered pace. Of these uprisings one of the most significant was that of the east Lancashire handloom weavers in 1826. On the morning of the 24 Apr 1826 thousands of people gathered at Whinney Hill, Accrington, to organise action in the face of starvation. As a consequence it became their task to destroy all the powerlooms in the vicinity without damage to property or violence to people. More than 1,000 powerlooms were destroyed and the uprising continued on the next day. On the third day 20 riflemen of the 60th (Duke of York’s Own Rifle Corps), commanded by Colonel Kearney, were waiting for them. The local magistrate, William Grant, read the 1714 Riot Act and the order was given for the riflemen to fire. During the ensuing massacre at least six people were killed – John Ashworth, James Lord, Richard Lund, James Rothwell, Mary Simpson and James Whitacre. In spite of this the uprising continued for a fourth day, the 27 Apr. At the Lancaster Assizes later in the year, Thomas Ashworth was sentenced to death but died from a ‘Visitation of God’ (heart attack). In all, 41 protesters received the death sentence but 31 of these were commuted to prison sentences and the rest were transported to the Australian penal colony.

Another early reference to Arden Mill appeared in the Manchester Times and Gazette on the 29 Sep 1832. It was reported that Joseph Clay of Arden Mill was awarded a Silver Medal by the Manchester Agricultural Society for improving seven acres of land by floating (?). Another reference in 1840 concerns the will of John Higginson, a Miller of Arden Mills, Bredbury.

Once Arden Mill had ceased being used for corn milling it was converted into a paper mill. By 1885 the mill was occupied by John Lomax, a paper maker. By 1902 the mill was occupied by the firm of Lancaster, Ferguson & Co, trading as paper makers and merchants, and the proprietors were William Lancaster and Archibald Ferguson. On the 31 Dec 1902 this partnership was dissolved but the firm continued trading under the style of William Lancaster & Co with William Lancaster as the sole proprietor. After the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 its use was to change again in aid of the war effort.

Arden Mill
Bredbury, Cheshire

Grid Ref: SJ 926 934
Tithe Map: 1841, Ref: EDT 63/2
Courtesy: Cheshire Archives & Local Studies

The tithe map shows the mill in 1841 and it will be seen that two tailraces returned spent water back to the river but the headrace is not shown. The mill was fitted with three waterwheels and some technical details of these are shown in the two newspaper cuttings below, dated the 25 Apr 1846 and 24 Jul 1852 respectively. It is possible that the line drawn across the river adjacent to the mill may be the original weir that was removed when the weir further upstream was built. A map of 1848 confirms there was a weir across the river at this point and the 1841 tithe map does not show a weir further upstream at the site of the present weir.

The Apportionments accompanying the tithe map shows that the Trustees of Ellis Fletcher (James Moore, Thomas Mulliner and Jacob Fletcher Ramsden) owned the land hereabouts and the occupier was Joseph Clay. There was a house close to Arden Mill that was occupied for a while by Peter Rothwell who was the Agent of the Proprietor of Ellis Pit (Denton Colliery) and it was also used by coal miners who had arrived from the Clifton and Worsley area of Lancashire to work in local pits owned by the Trustees. Mill Field was a large field adjoining Arden Mill in Bredbury and it is likely that Mill Field House (or Mill Fold), where Peter Rothwell and the miners lived, was the farm (or near the farm) now known as Mill Hill Farm.

The plot details are as follows:

Plot No.	Plot Name
238	Garden
239	Little Meadow
240	Arden Mill
241	Waste
242	Mill Field

24 Mar 1846 Arden Mill, Cheshire. - to be let, from year to year, or from a term of seven years, all those commodious, extensive, and well-known premises, now used as a corn mill, with all necessary machinery, and preparations required for carrying on a large business, consisting of nine pair of stones, meal and flour mill, four machines, malt rollers, bean splitting mill, drying kiln, &c, &c, and upwards of forty-five horses of water power, together with a good and convenient dwelling house and office, garden, ginhouse, stable, shippon, and other outbuildings belonging thereto, and connected therewith, and upwards of nineteen Cheshire acres of land, which is in good condition, and with or without several cottages. These premises are situated on the beautiful and fertile banks of the river Tame, in Bredbury, in the county of Chester, about one-third of a mile from the turnpike road leading from Stockport to Ashton-under-Lyne, and only seven and a half miles distant from Manchester. Three water wheels constitute the moving power, which are driven by a never-failing supply of water from the river Tame. Possession of the land, except one field, may be had immediately, and of the remainder of the premises on the 12th day of May next. Further particulars may be obtained at the office belonging to J Fletcher Fletcher Esq at the colliery in Denton; from Matthew Dawes Esq, solicitor, Bolton; or from Peter Higson, of Clifton, Agent. Joseph Clay, the present tenant, will show the place.
Clifton, 24 Mar 1846.

27 Sep 1851 A notice appeared in the Bankrupts section of The Bristol Mercury concerning James Bamforth, Arden-mills, Bredbury, Chester, corn-miller, who was bankrupt. The case to be held at Manchester District Court - Belhouse and Co, Manchester. Possibly, it was the bankruptcy of James Bamforth that persuaded Jacob Fletcher Fletcher that there was no future in corn milling, so he decided to sell all the machinery and equipment by auction. Following this event it is likely that Arden Mill was converted into a paper mill.

28 Jul 1852 To corn millers, farmers, brokers, and others. Mr William Grundy respectfully announces, that he is instructed by Jacob Fletcher Fletcher Esq to sell by auction, on Wednesday next, the 28th day of Jul 1852, at the Arden Corn Mill, near Denton, in the county of Chester, the entire waterwheels, mill gearing, and machinery, for grinding corn, wheat, malt, and beans, &c, &c, consisting of a waterwheel 17ft diameter by 7ft broad; ditto 15ft diameter by 2ft 9in broad; and ditto, 14ft diameter by 5ft 3in broad, with wooden shafts, buckets, iron segments, clows and fixings complete. The mill gearing connected with and driven thereby, comprising cast and wrought iron shafting, 2, 2½, 3, and 4 inches diameter; beam and pillar fixings, hangers, brass steps; mitre, bevil, and spur wheels. The machinery includes two pairs of grey stones for meal, malt, and haulms; five pairs French stones for wheat (two pairs of superior quality by Marris of Leeds); shelling mill, four dressers, wheat screens, iron teagle, sheet lead on the floors, partitions, &c, &c. The whole may be viewed two days prior to the sale, which will commence at eleven for twelve o'clock in the forenoon punctually. Any further information may be had on application to the auctioneer, 84 King-street, Manchester.

Joseph Clay (1774-1859), the Miller at Arden Mill, was born in Chapeltown, Sheffield, Yorkshire, and the 1851 census shows that he was then living at Woodley Cottage,Stockport Rd. He gave his occupation as a Master Miller employing six men.

Some water-powered mills were not located directly on river banks in order to build them on more convenient sites and in the case of Arden Mill it was built on Arden Rd, where it could be served by a millrace supplied with water from a weir built across the river. In order to increase the head of water, the present weir (Arden Mill Weir) was built across the river approximately 550 yards upstream of the mill site. It is understood that the millrace was 10 feet wide by 3 feet deep. The date when this was constructed is unknown but it was certainly there by c.1875.

The head of water (hydrostatic head) is the vertical distance between the water level in the river or reservoir and the input to the waterwheel or turbine, which is then turned by the flowing water. A large head allows water to fall a greater distance and in turn this increases the kinetic energy, which is the energy used by the waterwheel or turbine to generate hydro power.

The headrace from this weir to the mill was cut along the left bank of the river and parallel to it. The tailrace, used to return spent water back into the river, was relatively short when compared with the length of the headrace. An input sluice was provided by Arden Mill Weir, which was used to control the amount of water flowing into the headrace. A short distance below this an overflow sluice was provided for use in the event of flooding, so that surplus water could be discharged back into the river.

Arden Mill Weir, Jan 1950.

Arden Mill and Weir, 1897.

The type of waterwheels initially used to power the mill is unknown but from the lie of the land at the mill site it is likely that they were breastshot from which line shafts and mitre gears would transmit power into the mill. Typically, a breastshot waterwheel is powered by a head of water entering the wheel at a position between one third and two thirds of the wheel diameter measured from the lowest point of the wheel. This causes the wheel to rotate in a direction opposite to that of the flow of water in the mill race or leat.

Breastshot Waterwheel.

During the 19th century, corn grinding went into decline in the area and sometime after 1852, when it ceased to be a corn mill, it was converted into a paper mill. Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser for the 22 Feb 1865 confirms that by then it was operating as a paper mill. At this time the proprietors were Heywood, Higginbottom, Smith and Co Ltd of 15 Parliament St, Dublin.

An interesting development at the mill was the introduction of two water turbines to supply power. It is not known when this happened but it is likely that it occurred prior to the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 or early in the war. This new source of power may have been introduced in association with the third change in use of the mill. From the external appearance of these turbines, it is likely that they were of the mixed flow reaction type in that they combined radial and axial flow. This meant that water entered the runner (rotating part like a propeller) radially and left it axially. Water turbines of this type can be over 90% efficient and they usually operate at heads of water of between 6 feet and 660 feet. The first modern water turbine was invented by Fourneyron in 1830 but since then other engineers have introduced variations to the original concept. The most important of these was the Francis turbine, invented by the American engineer, James Bichiro Francis, in 1840. However, the turbines at Arden Mill lack the typical spiral outer case of the Francis turbine, so they must have been one of the other types. In use, an electrical generator was attached to the runner shaft to form a single unit. It is understood that these turbines generated up to 300 hp (224kW) and they powered the mill as well and an adjoining row of cottages.


The two water turbines, 1971. Water from the headrace entered the turbines, radially, through the two pipes in the background. This was then discharged, axially, to pass into the tailrace through the two pipes in the foreground.	Detail of the water turbines, 1971. This view is possibly from the headrace side looking inside the turbine on the right in the first view. It may show one of the generators, which would have been submerged in use.

Detail of the water turbines, 1971. Possibly, these are the penstocks (sluice mechanisms) used to control the flow of water to the turbines.	The tailrace from the water turbines is in the background on the right, behind the stone wall, 1950s. The large boulder in the river Tame is known as the Robin Hood Stone.
	Arden Mill viewed from the river Tame looking downstream, early 20th century.

Contemporary local sources all agreed that the last change of use at Arden Mill involved the manufacture of guncotton. However, it is more likely that it was proposed to manufacture a similar but more modern material known as cordite. The chemist, Sir Frederick Augustus Abel (1827-1902), improved the manufacture of guncotton by the careful preparation of nitrated cotton to produce a fine pulp and this was complemented by the introduction of much longer washing and drying times. Then, in association with the chemist and physicist, Sir James Dewar (1842-1923), he developed cordite, which was the type adopted by the British Government in 1891.

It is now known that in Aug 1917 Arden Mill was requisitioned by the Government as 'His Majesty's Cotton Waste Mill'. It was No. 153 of 218 National Factories established as a result of the Munitions of War Act, 1915 (5 & 6 George V cap 54). It was controlled by the Ministry of Munitions, which operated between Jun 1915 and Nov 1918, through the British and Foreign Supply Association. It was known as, No. 153, Woodley, Arden Mill DRB - Cotton Waste. Although it was requisitioned in Aug 1917 there is no record of the date of its first output. This implies that the large explosion that destroyed it occurred while the mill was still undergoing conversion to its new use, following which it was abandoned.

Subsequently, the millrace became blocked and overgrown and the sluices rotted away. In the 1950s it was still possible to see alongside Arden Mill weir a gear wheel and shaft once used to operate the inlet sluice, as well as traces of the overflow sluice.

Surprisingly, the water turbines remained in situ until the early 1970s. They were best seen from the footpath on the opposite side of the river Tame where, with care, their distinctive shape could be discerned through the foliage. Their fate is unknown.