Century Mill, Farnworth

Century

Location within Greater Manchester
Cotton
Spinning (ring mill)
Location	George St, Dixon Green.
Further ownership	Lancashire Cotton Corporation (1930s) Courtaulds (1964)
Coordinates	53°32′43″N 2°24′40″W / 53.5454°N 2.4112°W / 53.5454; -2.4112
Power
Date	1902
Engine maker	Hick Hargraves & Co. Ltd.
Engine type	Cross compound
Valve Gear	Corliss
rpm	59
Flywheel diameter	27ft
No. of ropes	45
Boiler configuration
Pressure	190
References
[1] [2]

Century Mill, Farnworth is a former cotton spinning mill in Farnworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester which was built in the early 20th century for ring spinning. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. The building is still in use for various other purposes in 2016.

History

Century mill was built early in the 20th century, spinning 40's counts on ring frames for general-purpose work.

The cotton industry peaked in 1912 when it produced 8 billion yards of cloth. The Great War of 1914–1918 halted the supply of raw cotton, and the British government encouraged its colonies to build mills to spin and weave cotton. The war over, Lancashire never regained its markets and the independent mills were struggling. The Bank of England set up the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1929 to attempt to rationalise and save the industry.^[3] Century Mill, Farnworth was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived through to 1950. In 2016 it was still standing and in use for non-textile purposes.

Architecture

Power

The mill had a 1500 hp cross compound engine by Hick, Hargreaves & Co. Ltd. built in 1902 which operated at 190psi. The cylinders were 26"HP, 54"LP on a 5 ft stroke. The 27 ft flywheel drove 45 ropes at 59rpm.^[4]

Equipment

• Ring frames

Owners

• Lancashire Cotton Corporation (1930s–1964)
• Courtaulds (1964–

See also

• Textile manufacturing
• Cotton Mill

Lancashire cotton
Architects	David Bellhouse Bradshaw Gass & Hope F.W. Dixon & Son Edward Potts Potts, Pickup & Dixon Stott Sidney Stott (later Sir Philip)
Engine makers	Daniel Adamson Ashton Frost Ashworth & Parker Bateman & Sherratt Boulton & Watt Browett, Lindley & Co Buckley & Taylor Carels Frères Earnshaw & Holt Fairbairn W & J Galloway & Sons Benjamin Goodfellow Hick, Hargreaves & Co Benjamin Hick and Sons John Musgrave & Sons J & W McNaught Petrie of Rochdale William Roberts & Co of Nelson George Saxon Scott & Hodgson Urmson & Thompson Yates of Blackburn Yates & Thom Willans & Robinson J & E Wood Woolstenhulmes & Rye
Machinery makers	Brooks & Doxey Butterworth & Dickinson Curtis, Parr & Walton Dobson & Barlow John Hetherington & Sons Joseph Hibbert John Pilling and Sons Harling & Todd Howard & Bullough Geo. Hattersley Asa Lees Mather & Platt Parr, Curtis & Madely British Northrop Loom Co Pemberton & Co Platt Brothers Taylor, Lang & Co Textile Machinery Makers Tweedales & Smalley T. Wildman & Sons
Mill owners	Elkanah Armitage Henry Ashworth Hugh Birley Hugh Hornby Birley Joseph Brotherton James Burton Peter Drinkwater Nathaniel Eckersley John Fielden William Gray Richard Howarth William Houldsworth John Kennedy Charles Macintosh Hugh Mason Samuel Oldknow Robert Peel John Rylands
Limited companies	Oldham Limiteds Fine Spinners and Doublers Lancashire Cotton Corporation Combined Egyptian Mills Ltd Courtaulds Bagley & Wright
Industrial processes	Textile manufacturing Cotton-spinning machinery Dref Friction Spinning Dandy loom Magnetic ring spinning Open end spinning Ring spinning Spinning frame Spinning jenny Spinning mule Steaming Water frame Roberts Loom Lancashire Loom Lancashire boiler
Associations	Amalgamated Association of Beamers, Twisters and Drawers (Hand and Machine) Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union Amalgamated Weavers' Association Burnley, Nelson, Rossendale and District Textile Workers' Union General Union of Loom Overlookers North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association Northern Textile and Allied Workers' Union National Union of Textile and Allied Workers The Textile Institute United Textile Factory Workers' Association
Employment practices	More looms Kissing the shuttle Mule spinners' cancer Piece-rate list
Lists of mills	LCC mills Bolton Bury Cheshire Derbyshire Lancashire Manchester Oldham (borough) Preston Rochdale Salford Stockport Tameside Wigan Yorkshire
Museums	Bancroft Shed Helmshore Mills Queen Street Mill Weavers' Triangle Quarry Bank Mill, Styal
Pioneers	Richard Arkwright Samuel Crompton James Hargreaves Thomas Highs John Kay (flying shuttle) John Kay (spinning frame) Robert Owen

Lancashire Cotton Corporation
Bury	Pilot Mill, Bury Wilton Mill, Radcliffe
Bolton	Ainsworth Mill, Breightmet Bolton Union Mill, Bolton Century Mill, Farnworth
Lancashire	Coppull Mill Imperial Mill, Blackburn Mavis Mill
Manchester and Salford	Brunswick Mill, Ancoats May Mill, Pemberton Monton Mill, Eccles
Oldham	Ace Mill, Hollinwood Blackridings Mill, Oldham Dawn Mill, Shaw Fox Mill, Hollinwood Hawk Mill, Shaw Heron Mill, Hollinwood Junction Mill, Middleton Junction Kent Mill, Chadderton Laurel Mill, Middleton Junction Magnet Mill, Chadderton Majestic Mill, Waterhead Manor Mill, Chadderton Newby Mill, Shaw Orme Mill, Waterhead Regent Mill, Failsworth Royd Mill, Oldham Royton Ring Mill, Royton Rutland Mill, Shaw Textile Mill, Chadderton Trent Mill, Shaw
Rochdale	Arkwright Mill, Rochdale Harp Mill, Castleton Malta Mill, Middleton Mars Mill, Castleton
Stockport	Elder Mill, Romiley Kingston Mill, Stockport Palmer Mills, Stockport Vernon Mill, Stockport Welkin Mill, Lower Bredbury
Tameside	Atlas Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne Cedar Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne Rock Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne Saxon Mill, Droylsden Stalybridge Mill, Stalybridge Texas Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne Tudor Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne Waterside Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne
Wigan	Empress Mill, Ince May Mill, Pemberton Trencherfield Mill
West Yorkshire	Foxsons Mill, Staincliffe Mons Mill, Todmorden

Buildings and structures in Bolton Borough, England
Buildings	Astley Bridge Mill Bolton Town Hall Bolton Museum Bolton Steam Museum Bolton Union Mill Century Mill, Farnworth Eagley Mills 10 Firwood Fold 15 Firwood Fold Hall i' th' Wood Kearsley Mill Smithills Hall Swan Lane Mills Ye Olde Man & Scythe
Places of worship	All Souls Church, Bolton Holy Trinity Church, Horwich St George's Church, Bolton St James' Church, Daisy Hill St John the Evangelist's Church, Farnworth St Mary the Virgin's Church, Deane St Margaret's Church, Halliwell St Matthew's Church, Little Lever St Maxentius' Church, Bradshaw St Patrick's Church, Bolton St Peter's Church, Bolton St Saviour's Church, Ringley St Stephen and All Martyrs' Church, Lever Bridge St Thomas' Church, Halliwell Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
Education	Bolton School Bolton TIC Rivington and Blackrod High School University of Bolton
Transportation	Bolton bus station Bolton Interchange Bolton railway station Blackrod railway station Farnworth railway station Horwich Parkway railway station Kearsley railway station Lostock railway station Moses Gate railway station Ringley Old Bridge Westhoughton railway station
Shopping complexes	Middlebrook
Sport and Entertainment	Bolton Arena Bolton Little Theatre Macron Stadium Octagon Theatre
Demolished	Burnden Park Lostock Junction Mills Chequerbent railway station Chequerbent railway station (1831) Grundy Hill Horwich railway station Westhoughton Mill
Lists	List of schools in Bolton List of mills in Bolton

References

Bibliography

• Dunkerley, Philip (2009). "Dunkerley-Tuson Family Website, The Regent Cotton Mill, Failsworth". Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
• LCC (1951). The mills and organisation of the Lancashire Cotton Corporation Limited. Blackfriars House, Manchester: Lancashire Cotton Corporation Limited. 
• Roberts, A S (1921), "Arthur Robert's Engine List", Arthur Roberts Black Book., One guy from Barlick-Book Transcription, archived from the original on 23 July 2011, retrieved 11 January 2009 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Textile mills in Greater Manchester.

• www.cottontown.org
• www.spinningtheweb.org.uk
• Story of a half-timer Catherine Walton who started at Century mill aged 12 in 1917