Lymefield Mill Broadbottom Mills Arrowscroft Mill

This mill is located on the right bank the river Etherow in Broadbottom in the historic parish of Mottram in Longdendale. It was built from local stone in the 1860s and its early owners were John Marsland followed by Edward Platt.

In 1889 it was acquired by Broadbottom Mills Co Ltd to be combined with the neighbouring Broad Mills complex, which was about 345-yards distant to the west. By 1891, these integrated, cotton spinning and weaving mills housed 60,000 spindles and 1,197 looms across spinning, weaving, and print operations.

In 1904 the Broadbottom Mills Co Ltd went into liquidation and reformed as Broad Mills Co Ltd. In the 1920s a depression in the North-West cotton industry caused economic collapse and Broad Mill Co Ltd went into liquidation in 1934. However, a devastating fire in the 1940s led to the complete demolition of the neighbouring Broad Mills complex in 1949 but Lymefield Mill survived intact.

In 1976, the textile company, Tiviot Prints Ltd, relocated its expanding business from Stockport into Lymefield Mill. The move allowed them to transition from traditional hand-screen printing to large-scale multicolour flatbed and rotary machine printing.

These former mills, later known as Broad Mills, were located on the right bank of the river Etherow in Broadbottom in the historic parish of Mottram in Longdendale. Founded in c.1802 by William and George Sidebottom, the site contained three multi-storey cotton spinning mills by 1824. Eventually the site grew into a large cotton manufacturing centre.

Initially, the mills were powered by water wheels supplied with water from a weir in the river Etherow. These were augmented by steam-driven beam engines in the 1830s to increase production.

In 1850, another family member, John Sidebottom, added a large weaving shed and warehouse. By 1860, the complex was operating about 25,000 spindles and 1,500 looms, and employing around 1,200 workers.

Between 1860 and 1865 the American Civil War caused the Lancashire Cotton Famine by cutting off supplies of raw cotton, forcing the mills to close. They reopened in 1870 and in 1872 they were purchased by John Hirst & Sons. In 1889 they were restructured as Broadbottom Mills Co Ltd. At this time the new company also acquired the neighbouring Lymefield Mill.

In 1904 the Broadbottom Mills Co Ltd went into liquidation and reformed as Broad Mills Co Ltd. In the 1920s a depression in the North-West cotton industry caused economic collapse and Broad Mill Co Ltd went into liquidation in 1934. Subsequently, parts of the complex were repurposed when they were leased to a commercial sawmill and a carpet factory. In 1949, a devastating fire tore through the remaining buildings, causing severe structural damage that forced the demolition of most of the historic buildings.

The remains of these buildings were eventually reclaimed by nature and turned into a protected reservation and heritage site. Currently, visitors exploring the area can walk the ½-mile long loop path of the Lymefield and Broad Mills Heritage Trail.

This former mill was located on the south-east side of Market St, Hollingworth, on the corner of the modern Highfield Gardens. It was in the historic parish of Mottram in Longdendale.

The mill was built in 1873 for the Hollingworth Cotton Spinning and Manufacturing Co Ltd. A late Georgian residence, known as Arrowscroft House, built in c.1820, became the residence for the early owners of Arrowscroft Mill. This house is about 160 yards due east of the mill site and it is now listed Grade II, List Entry No. 1162753.

The later succession of owners of Arrowscroft Mill is very convoluted. It was owned by the Hollingworth Cotton Spinning and Manufacturing Co Ltd until the late 1870s. The industrialist Thomas Rhodes (1815-1883) owned the mill from the late 1870s until 1859 when he transferred his main operations to his newly built Mersey Mill in Woolley Bridge which was about 600-yards distant to the east. However, it seems that he maintained ownership of the mill for a while but leased it. Thereafter, the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) took over the running of the mill as part of their expanding venture into manufacturing. Historical records then show that John Gartside & Co Ltd was operating Arrowscroft Mill by 1891. This major North-West company operated the mill alongside other local mills such as the nearby Albion Mill which was about 475-yards away to the west. By the mid-1950s the mill had been acquired by the Calico Printers' Association Ltd (CPA) to operate as a specialised textile printing resource.

In its final years, 1970s to 1982, the mill was repurposed and divided into smaller commercial units housing local firms such as Pennine Plastics Ltd and Louvre Blind Co Ltd. However, in 1982 a major fire broke out in Arrowscroft Mill and it was so badly damaged that it was subsequently demolished.