2015

SJ8383 : The Apprentice House, Quarry Bank Mill

taken 9 years ago, near to Styal, Cheshire East, England

The Apprentice House, Quarry Bank Mill
The Apprentice House, Quarry Bank Mill
Quarry Bank Mill is notable for its use of unpaid child apprentices, a system that continued until 1847, with the last child to be indentured starting work in 1841. The children lived in a separate building near the factory called the Apprentice House, a large detached house about 5 minutes’ walk from the mill.

The children came from local workhouses or from parents who could not afford to keep them. They worked long days with schoolwork and gardening after coming back from the mill. The living conditions for the children were very basic and primitive by today's standards, but compared to other mills their treatment would have been regarded as decent and humane by the standards of the day. A doctor and school were provided where they learned to read and write although their main purpose was to provide readily available, trained and cheap millworkers. Despite the primitive and harsh conditions, most children were willing to work in the mill because life at a workhouse would be much worse.

The Apprentice House was built in 1790; it housed up to 100 boys and girls who provided a large proportion of the mill’s workforce. It is a grade II* listed building (English Heritage Building ID: 414950 LinkExternal link British Listed Buildings).
Quarry Bank Mill :: SJ8382

Quarry Bank Mill, on the River Bollin in the village of Styal, was founded by Samuel Greg in 1784 for the spinning of cotton and, by the time of his retirement in 1832, it was the largest cotton spinning business in the UK. The mill was originally powered by a water wheel. During the 19th century, this was supplemented by steam engines as the water supply from the Bollin was inconsistent during the summer months.

In 1939, Quarry Bank Mill and the surrounding estate were donated to the National Trust and are open to the public. The mill is one of the best preserved textile mills of the Industrial Revolution period and now serves as a museum of the cotton industry. Commercial production at the mill continued until 1959.

Quarry Bank Mill has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.

LinkExternal link - Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate (National Trust)
LinkExternal link - Quarry Bank Mill (Wikipedia article with more information about the history of the mill and estate)


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · House was Built [28] · Apprentice House [24] · Apprentices were Children [13] Title Clusters: · The Apprentice House, Quarry Bank Mill [3] ·
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SJ8383, 258 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Tuesday, 3 March, 2015   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 4 March, 2015
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 836 832 [100m precision]
WGS84: 53:20.7263N 2:14.8049W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 836 832
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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