 The mill before 1951 | |
  Location inGreater Manchester | |
| Cotton | |
|---|---|
| Spinning (ring mill) | |
| Architectural style | Fireproof |
| Location | Ancoats, Manchester, England |
| Serving canal | Ashton Canal |
| Owner | Henry Bannerman |
| Further ownership |
|
| Coordinates | 53°29′07″N2°12′51″W / 53.4852°N 2.2143°W /53.4852; -2.2143 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1840s |
| Renovated |
|
| Design team | |
| Architect | David Bellhouse |
| Structural engineer | William Fairbairn |
| Power | |
| Engine type | Beam then horizontal then electric |
| Equipment | |
| Mule Frames | 77000 (1850s) |
| Ring Frames path | (1920s) |
| References | |
| [1] | |
Brunswick Mill, Ancoats is a formercotton spinning mill on Bradford Road inAncoats, Manchester, England. The mill was built around 1840, part of a group of mills built along theAshton Canal, and at that time it was one of the country's largest mills. It was built round a quadrangle, a seven-storey block facing the canal.[2] It was taken over by theLancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed toCourtaulds in 1964. Production finished in 1967.
It was a seven-storey mill with 35 loading bays facing directly onto the canal, with a smaller three3⁄4 story block of warehouses and offices backing onto Bradford Road. The Brunswick Mill was one of the largest in Britain at that time and by the 1850s held some 276 carding machines, and 77,000 mule spindles.[3] 20 drawing frames, fifty slubbing frames and eighty one roving frames.[4]
Ancoats is aninner city area of Manchester, inNorth West England, next to theNorthern Quarter and the northern part ofManchester's commercial centre.Historically a part ofLancashire, Ancoats became one of the cradles of theIndustrial Revolution, and has been called "the world's first industrial suburb".[5] From the late-18th century, Ancoats became a thriving industrial district and from 1798 has been served by theRochdale andAshton Canals facilitating the movement ofcotton,coal and finished goods. All Manchester's major railway stations were on the boundaries of Ancoats:Ancoats railway station on theMidland Railway,Ducie Street railway station andManchester London Road railway station on theGreat Central Railway,Cheshire Lines Committee,Oldham Road railway station andVictoria Station on theManchester and Leeds Railway,Exchange station on theLondon and North Western Railway.
Surveying for theRochdale Canal was carried out byJames Brindley in 1765. The knowledge that its construction would make the transport of raw materials and finished goods more convenient, gave industrialists the confidence to build cotton mills. The first mills were built in Ancoats as early as 1790. In 1792 commissioners were appointed to improve the township of Manchester which included Ancoats. Towards the end of the 18th century steam power was used to power the cotton mills.Murray's Mills were built next to the Rochdale canal on Union Street (now Redhill Street) offGreat Ancoats Street, by Adam and George Murray in 1798 and were known as Ancoats Mills when they were operated by McConnel & Company Ltd. The streets of Ancoats were laid out during the latter part of the 18th century, with little development taking place other than small houses and shops alongGreat Ancoats Street and Oldham Road. TheAshton Canal was linked to the Rochdale Canal at the Piccadilly Basin in 1798.
From the opening of the canals, development of mills continued on a much larger scale. Mills in Ancoats included,Victoria Mills, Wellington Mill, Brunswick Mill, India Mills, Dolton Mills, Lonsdale Mills, Phoenix Mill, Lloydsfield Mill and Sedgewick Mill, Decker Mill (owned by the Murray brothers), New Mill,Beehive Mill, Little Mill, Paragon Mill, Royal Mill and Pin Mill.
The mill structure was classified as aGrade II listed building in June 1994.[6]
The Brunswick Mill was one of the largest in Britain at that time and by the 1850s held some 276 carding machines, and 77,000 mule spindles,[3] 20 drawing frames, fifty slubbing frames and eighty one roving frames.[4]
The building is now used by a variety of businesses.[6]
