Railway Street, Ramsbottom
Built Mid 19th century.
1861 multiple occupancy. [Drake Trade Directory]
George Ramsbottom, Cotton Manufacturer, Crow Works.
Warburton & Wolstenholme, Cotton Manufacturers, Crow Works
Gabriel Lund, Machine Maker, Crow Works.
1871 Only reference in the Worrall Directory is: Jane Wolstenholme (Exors of), Irwell Street.
1876 John Warburton occupier of Cotton Mill, Railway Street - Gabriel Lund, owner
[ Valuation List for TLE 1876 PUB8/44 - Bury Archives]
1883 Warburton & Co, Cotton Spinners & Manufacturers are at Crow Works. [Barrett Trade Directory)
1887 The mill produced honeycomb towels, twills and sheeting and had 3,000 spindles and 120 looms. [Worrall Trade Directory)
1888 Richard Barnes, Cotton Spinner and Manufacturer, Crow Works, Railway Street. He lived at 58 Stanley Street. [Slaters Trade Directory]
Hume Elliot makes a brief reference to ‘Mr Barnes in Railway Street’. [Nineteenth Century Ramsbottom – An Extract from the Reverend Hume Elliot’s book ‘The Country and Church of the Cheeryble Brothers’. Reproduced by The Ramsbottom Heritage Society. Page 151]
1892 Poor Rate Assessment records Richard Barnes occupier – Gabriel Lund owner – Cotton Mill at Railway Street. (Gabriel Lund also owned the adjacent Meadow Mill).
1908 Crow Mill is marked as ‘cotton’ and named on both the 1908 and 1939 maps.
1909 [Kelly Trade Directory]Joseph Shepherd & Son, cotton waste spinners & manufacturers, Crow Mill
1910 Shepherds occupied and Exors of Gabriel Lund were owners of Cotton Mill. This Valuation List also shows that Shepherds occupied a Waste Warehouse on Railway Street owned by Exors of Arthur Bentley. (Note from kath - think this was part of the foundry which John Wood had)[ Valuation List PUB 8/164 TLE Bury Archives]
An article in Kenneth Beetson’s Book – Ramsbottom Volume 2 written by T. Holden in 1923 refers to Crow Works: ‘ ....Crow Works,owned by Gabriel Lund, where, in the upper rooms cotton waste breaking machines (known as ‘devils’)were made. Mr Lund had an excellent reputation all over Lancashire for the excellence of the machinery turned out at his works. Some of the rooms were let for weaving. One part, I believe, was occupied by Wolstenholme and Warburton and another by John Ramsbottom.’[Beetson page 48]
Early in the 20th century Crow Mill became known as SHEPHERDS MILL – Shepherds operated at both Crow and Meadow Mill.
15.12.1923 Obituary in Bury Times for Mr John Barnes of St Annes on Sea died age 77 years. He owned Crow Mill.
– ‘Shepherds Limited, incorporated 1915, was founded in 1899 by Joseph Shepherd, formerly in partnership with Joshua Hitchon at Springwood Mill. There they successfully adapted the condenser woollen system to cotton waste spinning to make Ramsbottom the birthplace of condenser yarn.
The characteristic of this yarn is its greater bulk for equal weight, than any other cotton yarn, making it very absorbent and giving it some of the features of woollen yarn. As a result condenser yarn is used in certain cloths which have become established as definite fabrics and which cannot be produced in any other way.
Shepherds Limited spin condenser yarn for use in their own looms to produce Turkish Towels in a variety of colours and designs. Sheetings, Cotton Blankets, Jaspe, Bedspreads, Tablecloths and Furnishings, the latter screen-printed in their own works. Besides being in big demand at home, these products are exported all over the world’. [Ramsbottom Festival 1951 Souvenir Handbook].
1951 Shepherds also operated at the adjacent Meadow Mill . A full page advertisement in the Ramsbottom Festival 1951 Handbook reads:
Shepherds Limited – Spinners of Condenser Yarns, 6s to 8s in Cop, Hank, Cheese and Cone. Manufacturers of: White and Coloured Towels, Cotton Blankets, Sheetings, Polishing Cloths, Woven & Printed Tablecloths, Printed and Embroidered Bedspreads, Woven and Tufted Bath Mats. Crow & Meadow Mills, Ramsbottom. Telephone: 3101.
1857/8 There is an advertisement in the Ramsbottom Official Guide of 1957/8 for Shepherds Limited at Crow and Meadow Mill – Cotton Waste Spinners and Manufacturers. ‘ Towels, sheetings, cotton blankets, printed jaspe, bedspreads and table cloths, tufted bedspreads, cot covers, bath mats etc’
Late 1950s Shepherds changed to specialize in tufted goods and became part of John Pattison & Co.
1971/2 John Pattison & Co. Ltd incorporating Shepherds Limited of Crow and Meadow Mill, Railway Street are manufacturers of Candlewick goods including bedspreads, bathroom sets, patio rugs and similar goods for both the home markets and export to such countries as Holland, Switzerland Germany and France. The Company were spinners and weavers until the late 1950s but now specialize in tufted goods and are still part of the John Pattison Group, a family business employing over 100 people. [Ramsbottom Official Guide 1971/2]
I think the mill closed shortly afterwards although the buildings were extant in 1971 [Beetson].
Both mills were demolished by TNT but the office block, used by Shepherds is still used by TNT today. [2008]
This site was the subject of a planning application by Aldi Supermarkets in August 2008. The application was declined. Aldi appealed the decision October 2008.
Revised planning application submitted by Aldi - approved December 2008.
Office Block demolished May 2009. Archaeological surveyors on site May 2009.
During the archaeological survey I was allowed to take photographs of the site. I have deposited these in the RHS Archive. (2013).