MEADOW MILL
Railway Street, Ramsbottom
Built Mid 19th century. Built by Ashworth & Sunderland [T. Holden in Ken Beetson’s Book]
1861, 1871, 1883 John & Edmund Rothwell occupied the mill from 1861. John W.H. Rothwell lived at Brandlesome Old Hall and Edmund J. Rothwell lived at Holly Bank, Bolton Road West. (Drake, Worrall, Barrett & Slater]
1881 Edmund Jas. Rothwell lived at 179 Barwood Mount with wife Mary Ann Rothwell (nee Lund) and their children. Also with them was Mary Ann’s mother Grace Lund age 64.
1887 There were 5,300 spindles, 125 looms and 6ft weft on which they produced waste twills & plains and waste wefts. Manchester offices at 8 Marble Street [Worrall].
1892 [Poor Rate Assessment Tottington Lower .End -PUB/11/30] J & E Rothwell are recorded as the occupiers of Meadow Mill, a cotton mill on Railway Street - Gabriel Lund was the owner.
Hume Elliot makes reference to the Palatine Mill of Messrs J & E Rothwell. [Elliot page 151]. (Strictly speaking this was not Palatine– I don’t know why Elliot referred to it as such as, it isn’t even on Palatine Street – Kath)
1908 The Rothwells are still at Meadow Mill in 1908 – J & E Rothwell, Meadow Mill, Railway Street, listed as Cotton Spinners and Manufacturers.
1909 [Kelly] John & Edmund Rothwell, cotton spinners & manufacturers, Railway Street and Kenyon Street.
1910 Rothwell Brothers were owner/occupiers of cotton Mill on Railway Street [Valuation List PUB 8/164 TLE Bury Archives]
Meadow Mill is marked and named on the 1908 map.
About 1915 Meadow Mill became known as Shepherds Mill in the early 20th century. They also operated at the adjacent 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].
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.
Late 1950s - until this time Shepherds Limited were weavers & spinners but they then merged with the John Pattison & Co group, (a family business) and began manufacturing tufted candlewick with a rapidly expanding export business with orders being received from the Continent and many Commonwealth countries. They employed some 150 people and were known as John Pattison & Co Ltd (incorporating Shepherds Ltd). [Ramsbottom Official Guide 1967 and 1972]
Local residents remember Shepherds Mill : [Notes from RHS exhibition 1989]
‘ originally two mills – Crow was the oldest and part did winding, the other was Meadow Mill and did weaving & candlewick bedspreads’.
‘Definitely a fire there mid-1950s and possibly another ‘
‘It was closed due to sale of mill, not fire’.
Closed around 1970.
Whole mill extant 1971. [Beetson]
Most of the mill buildings were pulled down by TNT when they bought the site although Shepherd’s offices still stand and are used as offices by TNT.
Brief History of TNT: In 1946 thirty three year old Ken Thomas established K.W. Transport in Austalia with a single truck. In 1958 K.W. Transport changes its name to Thomas Nationwide Transport and TNT is born. In 1978 Expanded into the UK market with the purchase of the Lancashire based Inter County Express which at that time had 500 employees and less than £5m turnover.
2008/9 TNT sold the site and closed the office building as they enlarged their offices at Stubbins Vale Mill which became the TNT UK Group’s Administration Centre:
TNT UK Administration Centre
Stubbins Vale Mill
Ramsbottom
Lancashire BL10 9AR Tel: 01706 827511
July 2008 Whole site of Crow Mill and Meadow Mill subject of planning application to build an Aldi Supermarket on the site. Planning Application refused. 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.
From folder lent – college dissertation 1967 – she describes the buildings of this mill on Railway Street as 3 storeys high and built of stone with a cement facing.
EDMUND JAMES ROTHWELL
In 1881 Edmund James Rothwell lived at 179 Barwood Mount with his family. His wife’s name was Mary Ann Rothwell born Ewood Bridge. Her maiden name was Lund and she was the daughter of Gabriel Lund who owned the site of Meadow Mill.
Edmund James Rothwell born 31.10.1835 Bury.
Edmund James Rothwell married Mary A. Lund 1866 Bury
Gabriel Lund married Grace Wilkinson 1838 Bury - two known children - James Lund born 1842 Haslingden & Mary Annie Lund born 1840 Haslingden
Edmund J. Rothwell died 1900 age 64 Bury. M.I. Emmanuel Holcombe C.25. Also lists children and Grace Lund who died 1882.