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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Cheshire => Topic started by: NickT on Sunday 08 January 12 18:25 GMT (UK)
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Please help if you can.
Jonathan Roylance of Wilmslow, miller. Property: Bollen [Bollin] Mills, with the Drying Kiln and the Mill House, with appurtenances; for fourteen years.
Above details of a lease for a mill in or near Wilmslow. I come from the area but have no idea where this mill may have been. Does anyone know and is there anything left of the original buildings?
Thanks, Nick.
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From the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 13 March 1830
"To be let for a term of years.... COTTON FACTORY, called the Bollin Mill, situate in the Township of Bollington, in the county of Chester.....
2 miles from Macclesfield, about 1 mile from the Manchester and London Turnpike Road and within half a mile of the Macclesfield Canal, ....."
Possibility?
regards
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Hi Nick,
Glad to be able to help.
I've looked on Cheshire's e-mapping site and located Bollin Hall and the leet to it from quite a way back up the Bollin, just before a weir.
You will see (if you do as I have - brill e-site - lots of info) that the hall, and presumably the mill. was on the site of the current Polar Ford, between the railway viaduct and the newish roundabout on the bypass.
For the benefit of others, the e-mapping facility allows for a currnt OS map on one side of the screen and a choice of previous maps (1910, 1875) on the other half. As one is scrolled the other moves in unison.
Further info might? be obtainable from Ray Acton who is coming to the North Cheshire FHS meeting on August 21 at Hazel Grove to give a talk about Victorian life in Wilmslow. It's on NCFHS website. I will send you a PM with his email address.
KimH
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Slater's Manchester, Salford & Suburban Directory 1911 Pt 4
It mentions a Bollin Walk, off Manchester Road, Wilmslow. Nearby streets listed are Wareham Street and Ladyfield St.
Listed is "Kitchen Wm, Miller, Bollin Mill"
Appears to have been on the corner of Bollin Walk and Manchester Rd?
The Mill in Bollington may have been in George St - there was a Silk Throwster's Mill there in 1911 (Kelly's Directory 1911)
regards
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I would imagine that our Welsh friend is not conversant with this neck of the woods. First of all the initial inquiry mentions a drying kiln. They don't have them in cotton mills but do, in corn mills. Since my previous comment I have been on the ' picturecheshire' site and selected ' corn mill' and a picture of the sluice gate is given as being on the Bollin. I was along that river earlier this year. I don't recall seeing the sluice gate but the evidence is pretty convincing that what I've stated is correct, eh?
KimH
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Hi all
I know the area a little bit and my first thought (having lived in Bollington) is that I have never heard Bollington being described as Wimslow. Sometimes "near Macclesfied" or "in "Parish of Prestbury" - but Wimslow is generally considered to be "somewhere else".
There are/were a number of mills in Bollington - the main ones being Clarence, Adelphi, Upper and Lower Mills. I don't remember a Bollin Mill but there may have been one once (or I just didn't see it).
Bollington gets its name from the River Bollin - which runs through Macclesfield and Wilmslow. So - The Bollin Mill could quite conceivably be in or near Wilmslow and does not have to be in Bollington..
Although - hanes teulu's posting about the Bollin Mill does refer to Bollington rather than Wilmslow. It could be the one you are after - or could there have been two with the same name?
Not sure if you are aware of it - but there is a wonderful history centre in Bollington which is well worth a look.
http://happy-valley.org.uk/discover/discover.htm which has lots of photos of the area at
http://bollingtonphotos.co.uk/
They are also very helpful if you email them - and may be able to tell you where Bollin Mill is/was
Milly ;D
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Simple!
Bollin Mill wasn't actually on the River Bollin but some distance away. If you search for Wilmslow on "Old Maps" and look at the 1882 1:10560 map you'll find its name written across the southern abutment of the railway viaduct.
Unfortunately its site is now occupied by a Ford garage and the Alderley Edge by-pass. Progress!
Ray
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SK9 1BN on old-maps pretty well hits the spot (just north of Bollin Walk), though on the equivalent 1874 1:2500 it's called 'Wilmslow Mill (Corn)'; 1898 just 'Corn Mill'. See also Cheshire e-maps: Bollin Fee plot 1572.
Further east of the mill is the railway viaduct, and beyond that Bollin Hall.
Postscript. I've ferreted a bit further. Seems this was a 19th-cent mill (though possibly on the site of a medieval corn mill). Does that fit in with the Roylance lease??
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...oops. The wording I pointed out isn't actually Bollin Mill. Looking again at the map - after Birtle's post - I think it actually says "Bollin Hall". My excuse is that "Hall" is absorbed in a blob of ink and could say either but I think it says "Hall".
Whether Wilmslow Mill and Bollin Mill are one and the same, I am unsure.
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Kelly's Directory of Cheshire 1896
Commercial
Kitchen William, jun. miller, Bollin Corn Mill, Manchester Rd
(I think my earlier post put put it at the junction of Manchester Rd and Bollin Walk - Kelly's 1911?)
Re Bollin Hall, I had checked the O.S. 1882 map (historical directories on line) and couldn't decide if it was "Hall" or "Mill" (a sight of the original needed there). Bollin Hall was demolished 1842 to make way for the Railway. But "Wilmslow Mill" was marked where Bollin Walk meets Manchester Rd (at Wilmslow Bridge?).
But the 1910 O.S map (available thru "cheshire e mapping" - brilliant facility) clearly shows Bollin Hall by the Viaduct. But no sign of a mill at that precise location - only the unnamed "Corn Mill" where "Wilmslow Mill" used to appear.
regards
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So it looks like the 'Bollin Corn Mill' of Kelly's Directory 1896, located on Manchester Road, may indeed be the 'Wilmslow Mill' of my previous post which the old maps locate close to Bollin Walk's junction with Manchester Road.
:)
A bit more googling (Google>Books search terms: bollin wilmslow corn mill) produced a snippet indicating that the mill in latter days was occupied by a firm of builders, and that it was powered by overshot waterwheel which was removed in abt 1955 (O. Ashmore, The industrial archaeology of northwest England. 1985).
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Birtle,
Pl treat the following with care - after all I ain't "conversant with the area".
Kelly's 1896, 1902 and 1914 has William Kitchen, Bollin Corn Mill, Manchester Rd
Slater's 1911 has William Kitchen, Bollin Mill, Bollin Walk (somewhere off Manchester Rd?).
Various maps available but none specifically identify/name "Bollin Mill" - outstanding debate whether the 1882 map says Bollin "Mill" or "Hall". Only a sight of the original might confirm this (me - I'm for "Hall" not "Mill" taking the 1910 map into account).
Have a number of newspaper references to "Mills" (plural) at Wilmslow Bridge from 1817 onwards when improvements to the Toll Roads are being discussed
Even so, I'm glad I don't have to decide if the unnamed "Corn Mill" on the 1910 cheshire e mail map is the "Bollin Mill" in the Jonathan Roylance lease.
regards
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The 1910 map locates Bollin Hall east of the railway, and close to the distinctly dog-legged road (which on the 1882 map starts by the second 'l' in the words Mill Lade) which heads in a NE direction to a wooded area. Given that distinctive location, I don't really think that the obscured word in 1882 can be anything other than Hall; also, if it were 'Mill' the dot to the 'i' would surely be visible, even if the greater part of the letter is otherwise obscured.
And I agree, the identity of 'Bollin Mill' could nevertheless still be open to question. And 1891, 1901 and 1911 don't help: two have Kitchen living at Prescott House on Manchester Road, the other merely on Manchester Road...
As for the plurality of mills at Wilmslow Bridge (hanes teulu), I've also now found mention of them, in the context of 'more effectually repairing and improving the Road from Ardwick Green near Manchester to the Bridge at the Corn Mills at Wilmslow' (House of Lords sessional papers.... 1845). The corn mill on Bollin Walk was a 4-storey structure, so perhaps it was milling on a large scale - hence mills????
Does anyone have access to a copy of Andrew Pearson's history of Wilmslow ('Wilmslow past and present') which was first published in 1901, reprinted in the 1970s? He was a local man and historian, and might just possibly make specific reference to 'Bollin Mill'.
Birtle :)
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I wonder if this helps?
from Uni of Manchester (John Rylands University Library) website
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0jks/
The John Rylands archive contains:
"Over four hundred leases from Dean Row and Styal in Wilmslow parish, Cheshire, and several manorial records relating to the manor of Bollin cum Norcliffe in Wilmslow, presented by the 10th Earl of Stamford, 1647-1833 (RYCH/3850-4317);" http://www.rootschat.com/links/0jkv/
One mentions Bollin Mills as corn mills near a weir near Mill Meadow.
Lessee: John Hatton of Wilmslow miller.
Tenement no.: 83.
Property: a plot of land in Dean Row now marked out in a field called the Henshaw Bank, being part of Bollin demesne, abuttals given (490 square yards), and liberty to make a weir across the River Bollin from the said plot to the bank of a field adjoining the river called the Mill Meadow, and liberty to use at the weir the waste water which is not required for the corn-mills there called Bollin Mills, in order to turn such waterwheel as Hatton shall erect for turning textile machinery.
And another from 1823
http://archives.li.man.ac.uk/ead/html/gb133rych-rych-3850-4093-p3.shtml
Lessees: George Dodson of Holford, farmer and miller, and Thomas Walker, late of Holford, now of Wilmslow, miller. Property: Bollen [Bollin] Mills, with the Drying Kiln and closes of land belonging thereto; for fourteen years.
Milly
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Or this?
Page 53 has a reference to Bollin Mills, Macclesfield - and says they are in Brook Street, Macclesfield (about 1840s)
http://www.kriv.org.uk/documents/historical-study.pdf
" Macclesfield was growing rapidly in the first half of the 19th century, and civic improvement
provided a market for setts, curb stones and paving stone, though the houses and mills were mostly
built in local brick. Bollin Mills, on Brook Street, Macclesfield, were an exception, having been built
in stone by Thomas Ainsworth."
I wonder if there was more than one "Bollin Mills" at different times?
What date does the original reference for Jonathan Roylance come from?
Milly
Milly
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Terrific Milly! Re your John Rylands info:-
Henshaw Bank is identified in Cheshire e-maps as Bollin Fee plot no 1576 which is just north of plot 1572 that I mentioned earlier. The tithe map shows that only 1320 (the plot name is just 'meadow') and a small plantation of trees (plot 1574) lies between 1576 Henshaw Bank and, on the other side of the Bollin and mill race, the mill itself in plot 1572.
Birtle
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What date does the original reference for Jonathan Rylance come from?
Just found it on A2A: the date's 1786 (RYCH/3999)
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And if you look at the modern map for that area.. it says there is a weir there..
So - it look like it is in the middle of Wilmslow itself.
The modern map also shows a building called Millbank House...which appears to be a riverside residential development of some old mill buildings
http://www.orbit-developments.co.uk/property-search/Millbank-House-Commercial-Space-Wilmslow-18.aspx
Milly
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SK9 1BN on old-maps pretty well hits the spot (just north of Bollin Walk), though on the equivalent 1874 1:2500 it's called 'Wilmslow Mill (Corn)'; 1898 just 'Corn Mill'. See also Cheshire e-maps: Bollin Fee plot 1572.
Further east of the mill is the railway viaduct, and beyond that Bollin Hall.
Postscript. I've ferreted a bit further. Seems this was a 19th-cent mill (though possibly on the site of a medieval corn mill). Does that fit in with the Roylance lease??
I think you could be right about it being an old corn mill at that time - and then later on it was redeveloped as (possibly) a silk or cotton mill of some kind.
Also -there is some interesting background about Wilmslow in this educational pack about nearby Quarry Bank Mill and the Styal estate
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/gcse_resources_pack_final.pdf
Milly
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Great stuff Milly/Birtle
Re " redeveloped as (possibly) a silk or cotton mill....."
History, Gazetteer of Cheshire 1850
Wilmslow
The cotton mill had been closed for a few months when we visited Wilmslow. A short distance West from the Church, and on the banks of the Bollin, is a mill for throwing silk, carried on by Mr Charles Barber.
The 1851 Census (HO107 2162 51 36) has a Charles Barber, Silk Throwster, lodging at 2 Manchester Road
A fascinating post
regards
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There were apparently some brick making works in the area (sorry can't remember where I read that) which grew when there was lots of expansion of industry, building new mills etc - perhaps the kiln was for making bricks.
Milly
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It was not unusual for corn mills to have drying kilns for grain. Perforated clay tiles (holes small enough to stop grain falling through of course) were used. This one is about 300mm square at Swaddlincote Museum.
On Hazel Grove forum are pictures of the excavated corn mill at Norbury (part of HG) showing where kiln was. (say about 6 months ago) Mill leet came from near level crossing at High Lane.
KimH
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Sorry. Just checked. Unless you can log on to the Hazel Grove forum you cannot have access to the pictures of the corn mill kiln.
KimH
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Kilns for drying corn would make more sense in a corn mill of course ::)
Milly
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I'd be interested in learning just where the brickmaking took place near the place in question. There were a lot of brickworks in Stockport and the surrounding areas. Potts' had a small one at Alderley Edge and Bradley's made bricks, drain tiles and plant pots at Mobberley.
KimH
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Now there's a thing! My G Grandfather lived in the middle of Wilmslow and, according to the 1901, he was a "Brickmakers Labourer". Maybe bit short lived. In 1891 he lived in Mobberley and by 1911 the family had moved to Cheadle.
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The larger brickworks (more permanent) were at the Cheadle side of Stockport so perhaps your ancestor progresed to a moulder or a kiln setter. A ' burner' was a very skilled position because the ultimate quality of the bricks depended upon the firing. Incidentally burners were often poached by new companies setting up smaller brickworks.
KimH
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The 1851 Census (HO107 2162 51 36) has a Charles Barber, Silk Throwster, lodging at 2 Manchester Road
See the 1874 entry under this potted history of the Carrs Mill (which, incidentally is the other side of town from the Bollin Walk corn mill) in Wilmslow? http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bryan.burtonbj/carrs_mill.htm
The webpage also offers quite an insight into how mills were adapted through the 19th cent to meet the winds of economic change (ugh, how corny!. Oh dear, sorry - that's even worse).
I actually hadn't realised this prior to digging around with regard to this thread, so as some of my Wilmslow ancestors were employed in the cotton trade and fustian cutting amongst other things my nose is now well and truly twitching. Thanks to NickT for asking the question in the first place.
Birtle
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The larger brickworks (more permanent) were at the Cheadle side of Stockport so perhaps your ancestor progresed to a moulder or a kiln setter. A ' burner' was a very skilled position because the ultimate quality of the bricks depended upon the firing. Incidentally burners were often poached by new companies setting up smaller brickworks.
KimH
Got it slightly wrong Kim. He was a "brickmakers labourer" in 1901 but still living in Mobberley (Knolls Green). He gives his occupation as "general labourer" in 1911 when the whole family are boarding on Church Street in Wilmslow. It looks like the family are on the way down rather than up although he may still have been involved in brickmaking.
The family lived in the middle of Cheadle (that's the Stockport version) and not close to the brickworks which started life on the western side of Ladybridge Road, north of the brook, although I suspect that they only excavated the clay there transporting it to the kilns on Adswood Road where you'll still find them.
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Hello everybody,
First time poster here, i was happy to see an active thread after a related google search. I can add a little bit more information, but i'm unsure about the drying kiln. I've just had a flick through 'The Old Community, A History Of Wilmslow' and there are no references to it.
What i can say is the location of the Bollin mill was definitely on the left hand corner of manchester road (where the rounabout turns left down towards the second Atlantic/Polar ford garage roundabout.
The lade here will now be underground. (pesky tarmac) The only remaining part of the lade (I think) can be seen on the Wilmslow park side of the bypass. You'd probably have to look pretty hard as it's quite overgrown there now.
This lade continued under the road and ended at the weir in Wilmslow park.
As for remains of the old mill goes, the whole area was redeveloped, i think, if you could see anything, it would be around the old river wall underneath the bridge on manchester road. I may have a pop down there tomorrow. ( I live in walking distance).
As for the silk mik you mentioned Hanes, that was located on the Carrs, between the bridge nearest the play area, and the wooden bridge just a short distance west from it. I'm not too sure why it was called a silk mill as it produced cotton. After this it turned into Wilmslow Laundry acknowledged as such in (1906?), and was then used to store various goods until it finally burned down in the mid 1920's. It's strange because i've walked past the spot 1000's of times and only pinpointed it recently. You can see tiny bits of old wall if you look hard enough. You wouldn't have thought that once a 3-4 storey building stood there.
Wow anyway, i'm sorry for the ramblings, but this thread has perked me up, as it seems to be the only one running right now. I'll keep an eye on this.
Happy hunting.
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Hello Chris - Welcome to Rootschat ;D ;D ;D ;D
Thanks for taking the trouble to register and add to the thread..
We always have lots of interesting discussion going on here at Rootschat. If you have a look around perhaps you'll get as hooked as we all are ;D ;D
Milly
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Chris,
A warm welcome to Rootschat and thanks for the confirmation of the location of Bollin Corn Mill.
regards
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Had a quick look at a book in Poynton library today, reference only = 'Portrait of Wilmslow' by Howard Hodson. Quite a bit about Bollin Hall and the corn mill.
K
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I didn't expect to provoke so much thought and interest around this subject. How wonderful! It looks as if my question has been thoroughly answered and I can set my mind to rest on that matter.
Just for the record my Roylances originated in and around Dean Row and my Roylance ancestor married a woman from Mobberley and moved there. I myself started life in Mobberley spending my first 21 years there but then moved away what now seems a very long time ago.
Thank you.
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I have a book in front of me by Roy Westall called Wilmslow and Alderley Edge, Quarry Bank Mill and Manchester Airport
There is a photo of Bollin Mill which was a corn mill taken from the old viaduct. The Parish Church is in the background to the right. I lived in Wilmslow for 25 years and Mum and Dad from 1949 to 2009, so know it well. There are also two photo's of the old silk mill down the Carrs which with the decline of the silk industry was converted into a calico printing factory.
In the early 18th century there were six cotton mills in the village two of which stood on ground near the river which now forms part of the churchyard.
We used to play down the Carrs as kids and teenagers but the silk mill was long gone by then.
As mentioned above, where Bollin Mill Gibsons Yard and other workshops stood is completely unrecognisable now as its been converted into a Bye-Pass.
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Am new to the site and have only just noticed this post. Bollin Mill was a corn mill on the corner of Manchester Rd and the road leading to the bypass. It belonged to my great grandfather William Kitchen from the 1880s. He lived in Prescott House on the same site. I have a photo of the mill with a lake beside it and the tower of St Bartholomew's church can be seen in the distance. The site was redeveloped in the 60s, I think.
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Hi Joey - welcome to Rootschat ;D ;D
The original poster Nick has not been around for a while but he may see that you have posted here.
If not - thanks for posting. We had a good old chat about Bollin Mill and it is good to get additional confirmation of what was decided ;D ;D
Hope you will take a look around Rootschat and stick around for while
Milly
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As this is a pretty old tread, I don't know if Joey.t is still following, however, if so, I wonder if you would be prepared to share an electronic copy of your picture of Bollin Mill, Wilmslow?
RogerT
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im surprised that no one mentioned oversley brickworks.... the chimney was a good landmark....sited above the bollin at the end of runway one at ringway ..... all went for the new runways jimbach
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im surprised that no one mentioned oversley brickworks.... the chimney was a good landmark....sited above the bollin at the end of runway one at ringway ..... all went for the new runways jimbach
The brother of a friend operated a car storage business from the site of Oversley Brickworks, for a while.
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The only remaining part of the lade (I think) can be seen on the Wilmslow park side of the bypass. You'd probably have to look pretty hard as it's quite overgrown there now.
This lade continued under the road and ended at the weir in Wilmslow park.
As for remains of the old mill goes, the whole area was redeveloped, i think, if you could see anything, it would be around the old river wall underneath the bridge on manchester road. I may have a pop down there tomorrow. ( I live in walking distance).
Along Wilmslow Park South, there's a small bridge, a short distance south-west of the bridge over the River Bollin, which passed over the mill lade. The path of the lade can be identified by following the tree-line to the east from that point.
Millbank House is the building which was originally Wilmslow Corn Mill.