Tudor Mill Portland Basin Ashton-under-Lyne

THE TUDOR MILL, ASHTON - The Tudor Mill is now practically complete. Last Saturday the first delivery of cotton took place, and spinning will be commenced next Monday. The mill stands on a site bounded by the Great Central Railway Company’s canal at the Cheshire end of Portland-street and is an imposing structure seven storeys high. Building operations wore commenced in October 1901, the foundations being completed on April 16th, 1902. Since that date rapid progress was made with the superstructure, a gratifying feature being that the work has been carried through without loss of life and without accident to workmen. The mill is an excellent type of a thoroughly up-to-date Lancashire cotton mill. The rooms are lofty, well lighted, and ventilated. The following is a brief description of the mill. The building is fireproof throughout, all floors and the roof being constructed of steel beams and brick arches, supported on cast iron pillars, all webs of beams are sheathed with brickwork, and the safety of the building is further secured by a complete installation of the Witter sprinkler. Outside fire escapes are fixed on the north and south sides of the mill. The boiler house, pump room and engine house and rope race are at the south end of the mill adjacent to the canal from whence water for steam and condensing will be drawn. The boiler house contains four Lancashire steel boilers, 30 feet by 8 feet to work at a pressure of 160Ib. per square inch. In conjunction therewith are four batteries of Green’s Economisers. The chimney is adjacent to the boiler house, and is 70 yards high, with seven-feet aperture. The engine room is very handsomely finished inside with enamelled tiles, worked in colours. The engine is of the vertical invert three-cylinder type and is designed o develop 1,400 i.h.p. A 10-ton travelling crane completes the engine room equipment. Power is transmitted to the various rooms by means of 40 1½inch ropes. The basement is occupied by the cotton and mixing room, kitchen, etc., the ground floor contains yarn cellar, cotton store, waste store, warehouse, etc., The first flooe contains the whole of the blowing and preparatory machinery viz. 94 carding engines, 12 drawing, 8 slubbing, 18 intermediate and 52 roving frames. The remaining four floors contain each nine pairs of self -acting mules, a total of 85464 spindles; 47,016 weft and 38,448 twist. The mill will be equipped with electric light throughout. WC's and lavatories are provided for each room. The staircase and lift are at the south-east corner of the building; the tower being carried up about 25 feet above the mill roof and containing the sprinkler tank of 7,500 gallons. The mill is faced externally with red pressed Newhey plastic bricks, relieved with buff string courses and stone dressings. The offices are situated at the east end and are furnished and fitted in first class style. ….. When this mill is fully equipped about 250 workpeople will be employed, about £250 weekly will be distributed in wages. The whale of the work has been designed by and carried out under the supervision of Mr. Sidney Stott, architect and engineer, York Chambers, Oldham, under whose direction Mr. J. T. Henthorne. of Shaw, has acted as clerk of works. The several contractors are: Building, Jonathan Partington, Middleton Junction; boilers, Tetlow Brothers, Hollinwood; economisers, E. Green and Co., Wakefield; pumps, etc., George Mills and Co., Radcliffe; engine and shafting, George Saxon and Co., Openshaw; cardroom machinery, Messrs. Brooks and Doxey, West Gorton; cotton and blowing room and spinning machinery, John Hetherington, Limited, Manchester ; sprinkler installation, Witter and Co., Bolton; electric lighting, Holmes and Co., Newcastle; tiling, Alf. Whitehead, Leeds; asphalt roofs and concreting, J. and J. C. Lord, Weaste; steelwork, D T. Brown and Co., Liverpool; cast ironwork, John Hall and Sons, Oldham; steam heating, Dawson, Stalybridge and W. F. Spencer, Oldham; ventilation, James Stott, Oldham; ropes, Kenyon, Dukinfield.  The mill has been erected for the special purpose of spinning supercorded yarns from 70’s up to 120’s twist and weft. [Stalybridge Reporter - Saturday 9 May 1903 page 6]

Reference    Stalybridge Reporter - Saturday 9 May 1903 page 6