Following the most recent accident on the Zebra crossing on Milnrow Road, we at I Love Shaw would like to urge you all to sign the following petition....
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/install-a-pelican-crossing-on-milnrow-road-shaw
Install a Pelican Crossing on Milnrow Road Shaw, in place of the Zebra Crossing
Following the most recent accident on the Zebra crossing on Milnrow Road, we at I Love Shaw would like to urge you all to sign the following petition....
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/install-a-pelican-crossing-on-milnrow-road-shaw
Trent Mill
The Trent Mill was off Duchess St Shaw in a cluster of mills in the Smallbrook area of the town.This consisted of the Hawk,Wye 1 and 2,Trent and Duchess.It was built by J Partington and Sons Chadderton in 1908 and the architect was F.W. Dixon & Sons who also designed the Rutland on Linney Lane.A distinctive trademark of Dixons was the use of stone turrets on the water towers or corners of the mill buildings and the other notably was white banding around the chimney stacks top and bottom of where the lettering was usually placed.It was "dual purpose" mill in other words it was used for both mule and ring spinning.It also had a 1800 hp "cross compound" engine by George Saxon & Co of Openshaw with 30" HP cylinders and 40" LP cylinders driven by Corliss valves operating at 65rpm with a 26ft Flywheel driven by 40 ropes to operate the Platts 120,000 spindles for the manufacture of Mule,Twist,Weft and Ring yarns.It was taken over by Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1929 reopened in 1938 and finally closed in 1962 eventually being demolished 1967- 1969
Thank you to Scott Ptolomey for this info
Thank you to Scott Ptolomey for this info
Famous people from Shaw.
Philip Gilbert Hamerton, an acclaimed etcher, painter, and art critic was born in the area in 1834.
The town is the home of Oldham-born actress Shobna Gulati, former Oldham Athletic player and manager Andy Ritchie and is the hometown of Kevin O'Toole, a founding member of dance act N-Trance.
Bobby Ball lived in Shaw.
Other famous people from Shaw include:
Jodie Connor - recording artist, lyricist, fashion model and goodwill ambassador for The Prince's Trust.
Eric Longworth - Shaw-born actor, best known for his semi-regular part in sitcom Dad's Army, as the town clerk of Walmington-on-Sea
I'm sure there are many more..If you know of any please send me a message using the comment box top right of the blog :)
The town is the home of Oldham-born actress Shobna Gulati, former Oldham Athletic player and manager Andy Ritchie and is the hometown of Kevin O'Toole, a founding member of dance act N-Trance.
Bobby Ball lived in Shaw.
Other famous people from Shaw include:
Jodie Connor - recording artist, lyricist, fashion model and goodwill ambassador for The Prince's Trust.
Eric Longworth - Shaw-born actor, best known for his semi-regular part in sitcom Dad's Army, as the town clerk of Walmington-on-Sea
I'm sure there are many more..If you know of any please send me a message using the comment box top right of the blog :)
Community facilities
Shaw and Crompton has communal areas and public facilities, including public parks, sporting establishments, and playing fields. Public houses in the centre of the town include The Shay Wake (a mill town-themed J D Wetherspoon pub, named after the Shaw Wakes week),
The Blue Bell, Duke of York, Coach and Horses, and The Pineapple.Outlying public houses include the Royal Oak at Cowlishaw, and the Park Inn at Buckstones Road.
Crompton Library is a purpose-built library housing over 36,000 items including books, CDs, and DVDs that can be borrowed by anyone who lives in the Oldham borough.
It has communal Internet facilities. The library was built in the early 1990s after the original 1907 building, which exists now as apartments on Beal Lane, became too small.
There are three main public parks in Shaw and Crompton. Dunwood Park lies alongside the Oldham and Rochdale Metrolink Line and has a children's play area, bowling green, and over a mile of wooded pathways along the base of a forested hillside.
High Crompton Park is in High Crompton and is home to a tennis court, bowling green, children's play area, and gardens.
Jubilee Gardens are found in the centre of Shaw and Crompton town centre, behind the Crompton War Memorial. Shaw and Crompton has large areas of land reserved for sporting and communal events; these are located off George Street, Edward Road, and Rushcroft Road.
Shaw Market, located on Westway, is open to market retailers and customers every Thursday. At other times most of the market area becomes a public car park. The market area has been used occasionally for fun fairs and other events. Shaw and Crompton town has several public sporting establishments.
Playhouse 2 is a 156-seat theatre in the heart of Shaw and Crompton town centre, which used to be an Odeon cinema. It has been the home of the Crompton Stage Society, an amateur theatre company, since 1966. A wide variety of entertainment, professional as well as amateur, is produced each year.
The Blue Bell, Duke of York, Coach and Horses, and The Pineapple.Outlying public houses include the Royal Oak at Cowlishaw, and the Park Inn at Buckstones Road.
Crompton Library is a purpose-built library housing over 36,000 items including books, CDs, and DVDs that can be borrowed by anyone who lives in the Oldham borough.
It has communal Internet facilities. The library was built in the early 1990s after the original 1907 building, which exists now as apartments on Beal Lane, became too small.
There are three main public parks in Shaw and Crompton. Dunwood Park lies alongside the Oldham and Rochdale Metrolink Line and has a children's play area, bowling green, and over a mile of wooded pathways along the base of a forested hillside.
High Crompton Park is in High Crompton and is home to a tennis court, bowling green, children's play area, and gardens.
Jubilee Gardens are found in the centre of Shaw and Crompton town centre, behind the Crompton War Memorial. Shaw and Crompton has large areas of land reserved for sporting and communal events; these are located off George Street, Edward Road, and Rushcroft Road.
Shaw Market, located on Westway, is open to market retailers and customers every Thursday. At other times most of the market area becomes a public car park. The market area has been used occasionally for fun fairs and other events. Shaw and Crompton town has several public sporting establishments.
Playhouse 2 is a 156-seat theatre in the heart of Shaw and Crompton town centre, which used to be an Odeon cinema. It has been the home of the Crompton Stage Society, an amateur theatre company, since 1966. A wide variety of entertainment, professional as well as amateur, is produced each year.
What's in a name?
The name Shaw is comes from the Old English word sceaga, meaning "wood".
The name Crompton is also of Old English derivation, from the words crom or crumb, meaning "bent" or "crooked", and ton, for "hamlet or village".
The dual name of both Shaw and Crompton has been said to make the town "distinctive, if not unique",while preference of Shaw over Crompton and vice versa has been a minor local controversy and point of confusion.
Today, the single name of Shaw seems to have won preference in the locality.
Shaw was originally a sub-district of Crompton and got this name because of a small church sited there dating back to the 16th century.
In 1872, Shaw was noted as one of three villages in Crompton.However, due to Shaw's urbanisation following the construction of a major road from Werneth to Littleborough, and the establishment of a post office sub-district named and situated in Shaw, it came to dominate Crompton.
The names merged to form the present day Shaw and Crompton, which boundary markers have used since at least the 1950s.
The name Crompton is also of Old English derivation, from the words crom or crumb, meaning "bent" or "crooked", and ton, for "hamlet or village".
The dual name of both Shaw and Crompton has been said to make the town "distinctive, if not unique",while preference of Shaw over Crompton and vice versa has been a minor local controversy and point of confusion.
Today, the single name of Shaw seems to have won preference in the locality.
Shaw was originally a sub-district of Crompton and got this name because of a small church sited there dating back to the 16th century.
In 1872, Shaw was noted as one of three villages in Crompton.However, due to Shaw's urbanisation following the construction of a major road from Werneth to Littleborough, and the establishment of a post office sub-district named and situated in Shaw, it came to dominate Crompton.
The names merged to form the present day Shaw and Crompton, which boundary markers have used since at least the 1950s.
Crompton Moor
Spanning approximately 160 acres (0.6 km2), and reaching an elevation of 1,282 feet (391 m), Crompton Moor is one of the largest open spaces run by Oldham Countryside Service.
Brushes Clough and Pingot are former coal and sandstone quarries on Crompton Moor.
Woodland planting in the 1970s considerably changed the appearance of the area and many of the paths now skirt the woodland, although they are always worth exploring!
Brushes Clough Reservoir was constructed in the 19th century by the Oldham County Borough Council,using stone quarried from this site.
Since the 1960s an unnamed waterfall (originally called Crompton Waterfall) cascades off Crompton Moor into the now unused Pingot Quarry.
The waterfall at Pingot Quarry
3 maps of Crompton Moor and environs. The first printed in 1851 on surveys based between 1844 & 1848. The second showing Brushes Clough reservoir and the last is an Ordnance Survey map of 1957 showing corrections to an earlier edition of 1951. Note the coal pits and old farmhouses that once populated the moor.
3 maps of Crompton Moor and environs. The first printed in 1851 on surveys based between 1844 & 1848. The second showing Brushes Clough reservoir and the last is an Ordnance Survey map of 1957 showing corrections to an earlier edition of 1951. Note the coal pits and old farmhouses that once populated the moor.
Did you know?
1/ Until the Industrial Revolution SHAW was sparsely populated and consisted of woods, moors and bogs. The local economy depended on sheep for woollen manufacture with small coal pits for fuel and stone quarries for building materials.
To encourage wool production a law existed between 1675 and 1816 requiring all bodies to be buried in woollen garments.
All the Cotton Mills and businesses in Shaw would shut for a fortnight and the town would be like a ghost town..This is when residents of Shaw would go away on holiday.
To encourage wool production a law existed between 1675 and 1816 requiring all bodies to be buried in woollen garments.
2/ During the Industrial revolution (between the years 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840) people from Shaw and Crompton used to be referred to as Shaytonians or Cromptonians. ('Shay' being the then pronunciation of 'Shaw')
This is where the name of the 'Shay Wake' pub originates from...All the Cotton Mills and businesses in Shaw would shut for a fortnight and the town would be like a ghost town..This is when residents of Shaw would go away on holiday.
That holiday period was originally known as "The Shay Wakes" and later became known as 'Oldham Wakes' in the 20th Century.
3/ Following a building boom during the 1860s–1870s, Shaw and Crompton became a mill town, dominated by large rectangular brick-built cotton mills.
The manufacture of textiles in Shaw and Crompton can be traced back to 1474, when a lease dated from that year outlines that the occupant of Crompton Park had spinning wheels, cards and looms, all of which suggest that cloth was being produced in large quantities.
Prior to industrialisation the majority of land was used for grazing sheep, which provided the raw material for a local woollen weaving trade.
Most families were involved with small scale pasture in some way, but they supplemented their incomes by weaving woollens in the domestic system, and selling cloth and linen.
By the Early Modern period the inhabitants of Shaw and Crompton were relatively wealthy.
The most affluent were those involved in cloth and linen, and their wealth was comparable to that of the merchants of Manchester and Salford.
4/ Shaw was originally a sub-district of Crompton. However, due to Shaw's urbanisation following the construction of a major road from Werneth to Littleborough, and the establishment of a post office sub-district named and situated in Shaw, it came to dominate Crompton.
The names merged to form the present day Shaw and Crompton, which boundary markers have used since at least the 1950s.
3/ Following a building boom during the 1860s–1870s, Shaw and Crompton became a mill town, dominated by large rectangular brick-built cotton mills.
The manufacture of textiles in Shaw and Crompton can be traced back to 1474, when a lease dated from that year outlines that the occupant of Crompton Park had spinning wheels, cards and looms, all of which suggest that cloth was being produced in large quantities.
Prior to industrialisation the majority of land was used for grazing sheep, which provided the raw material for a local woollen weaving trade.
Most families were involved with small scale pasture in some way, but they supplemented their incomes by weaving woollens in the domestic system, and selling cloth and linen.
By the Early Modern period the inhabitants of Shaw and Crompton were relatively wealthy.
The most affluent were those involved in cloth and linen, and their wealth was comparable to that of the merchants of Manchester and Salford.
4/ Shaw was originally a sub-district of Crompton. However, due to Shaw's urbanisation following the construction of a major road from Werneth to Littleborough, and the establishment of a post office sub-district named and situated in Shaw, it came to dominate Crompton.
The names merged to form the present day Shaw and Crompton, which boundary markers have used since at least the 1950s.
SHAW GAWBIES - What does it mean?
Here's the story I heard.
I'm not saying that this is a fact, it is more than likely an Urban legend, but I would be interested in knowing if any of you have heard anything different to this, or even if you can confirm this to be true? By using the contact box, the top right of the blog.
A mill chimney in Shaw was being demolished and it attracted a large crowd of 'Shawites', as they were then known.
A group of tinkers, spotting an opportunity, went round with a tin and said that the charge for watching was sixpence.
After collecting a large amount of sixpences, they scarpered to the pub in Royton where they couldn't resist telling everyone what had happened.
The Roytoners were delighted to taunt their old enemy for paying to GAWP at what should have been free and the name 'Shaw Gawpies' came about...which later became "Shaw Gawbies"
Visit our facebook page -https://www.facebook.com/ILoveSHAW
I'm not saying that this is a fact, it is more than likely an Urban legend, but I would be interested in knowing if any of you have heard anything different to this, or even if you can confirm this to be true? By using the contact box, the top right of the blog.
A mill chimney in Shaw was being demolished and it attracted a large crowd of 'Shawites', as they were then known.
A group of tinkers, spotting an opportunity, went round with a tin and said that the charge for watching was sixpence.
After collecting a large amount of sixpences, they scarpered to the pub in Royton where they couldn't resist telling everyone what had happened.
The Roytoners were delighted to taunt their old enemy for paying to GAWP at what should have been free and the name 'Shaw Gawpies' came about...which later became "Shaw Gawbies"
Visit our facebook page -https://www.facebook.com/ILoveSHAW
Early History
An early type of axe known as a palstave has been discovered on Crompton Moor, providing evidence of Bronze Age human activity.
It is believed that the area was inhabited by Ancient Britons, and that the Brigantes gave the River Beal its name. An ancient track, perhaps of Roman origin, crosses the modern Buckstones Road leading to Castleshaw Roman fort in neighbouring Saddleworth.
In 616 Ethelfrith of Bernicia, an Anglo-Saxon King, crossed the Pennines with an army and passed through Manchester to defeat the Britons in the Battle of Chester.A wave of Anglian colonists followed this military conquest and their settlements are identified by the Old English suffix ton in local place names. Royton, Middleton, Moston, Clayton, Ashton and Crompton are localities northeast of Manchester which may have been founded during that colonisation, suggesting that Crompton as a settlement could date from the 7th century.
Whitfield: during the Middle Ages, this cluster of homesteads was owned by the Knights Hospitaller and was the largest settlement in the area.
During Anglo-Saxon England, it is assumed from toponymic evidence that the township of Crompton formed around a predominantly Anglian community with a few Norse settlers, and within the extensive Hundred of Salfordshire.
Following the Norman conquest of England, Crompton was part of a vast estate given to Roger the Poitevin, the maternal nephew of William the Conqueror. It was unmentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086; the first recorded use of the name Crompton for the township was discovered in legal documents relating to Cockersand Abbey near Lancaster, dating from the early 13th century. The document outlines that Gilbert de Notton, a Norman who had acquired the land from Roger de Montbegon, granted his estate to Cockersand Abbey.
The Knights Hospitaller and Whalley Abbey held small estates in the township. In 1234, about 80 acres of land at Whitfield in Crompton were given to the Hospitallers,a rel igious order that provided care for poor, sick or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. A medieval cross has been discovered in the ruins of a house at Whitfield.
During the High Middle Ages, Crompton was a collection of scattered woods, farmsteads, moorland, swamp and a single corn mill, occupied by a small and close community of families.
The area was thinly populated and consisted of several dispersed hamlets, including Whitfield, High Crompton, Cowlishaw, Birshaw and Bovebeale.These hamlets were situated above the water-logged valley bottoms and below the exposed high moors.Owing to complicated local arrangements of land tenure, inheritance, and absentee landlords, the local lordship was weak, and Crompton failed to emerge as a manor with its own lord and court.
This slowly facilitated comparative freedoms and independence for the early people of Crompton,which encouraged the influx of families from the neighbouring parish of Rochdale, including the Buckleys, Cleggs, Greaves and Milnes.
During the Late Middle Ages, the Buckley and Crompton families were recorded as the largest landowners in Crompton, owning land and farmsteads at Whitfield and Crompton Fold respectively. The Crompton family has a well-documented history and can be traced back to the time of Magna Carta, appearing in the Assize Roll for 1245. Crompton is indigenous to the township, and first appears as a family name in the 13th century, when the locality's principal landowner, Hugh de la Legh, changed his family name to "de Crompton" (of Crompton), to reflect the estate he possessed. The family owned a large historic house by the name of Crompton Hall, on the site of Crompton Fold. Crompton Hall first appears in historical records as early as 1442, owned by Thomas de Crompton and his family. The original "medieval" Crompton Hall was demolished around 1848. A second Crompton Hall, set in its own prominent forested grounds, was erected by the family—by then an influential and affluent investor in the local cotton industry—but following the death of the last remaining family members, the site was sold and, in 1950, the house was demolished to make way for an exclusive development of bungalows.
Because of the poor soils and rugged terrain, Samuel Lewis said Crompton's inhabitants were "a race of hardy and laborious men".
They have also been described as having a reputation for being a "hardy, frugal and somewhat independent breed",which has been attributed to the tradition of absentee landlords and self-sustenance in earlier times.
There had been a chapel of ease at the hamlet of Shaw since at least the early 16th century, but, due to ecclesiastical arrangements for the parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, the inhabitants were obliged to contribute money towards Oldham Parish Church, which in turn had obligation to the mother Church of St Mary the Virgin at Prestwich. On several occasions during the 15th and 16th centuries, the Archdeacon of Chester had to intervene because Crompton's inhabitants refused to contribute towards holy bread and candles used at Prestwich. In 1826, a poll was taken regarding the re-building of Oldham Church. Not one person in Crompton voted in favour of the rebuilding and when a rate was levied to raise money for the new church at Oldham, the people of Crompton refused to pay.
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It is believed that the area was inhabited by Ancient Britons, and that the Brigantes gave the River Beal its name. An ancient track, perhaps of Roman origin, crosses the modern Buckstones Road leading to Castleshaw Roman fort in neighbouring Saddleworth.
In 616 Ethelfrith of Bernicia, an Anglo-Saxon King, crossed the Pennines with an army and passed through Manchester to defeat the Britons in the Battle of Chester.A wave of Anglian colonists followed this military conquest and their settlements are identified by the Old English suffix ton in local place names. Royton, Middleton, Moston, Clayton, Ashton and Crompton are localities northeast of Manchester which may have been founded during that colonisation, suggesting that Crompton as a settlement could date from the 7th century.
Whitfield: during the Middle Ages, this cluster of homesteads was owned by the Knights Hospitaller and was the largest settlement in the area.
During Anglo-Saxon England, it is assumed from toponymic evidence that the township of Crompton formed around a predominantly Anglian community with a few Norse settlers, and within the extensive Hundred of Salfordshire.
Following the Norman conquest of England, Crompton was part of a vast estate given to Roger the Poitevin, the maternal nephew of William the Conqueror. It was unmentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086; the first recorded use of the name Crompton for the township was discovered in legal documents relating to Cockersand Abbey near Lancaster, dating from the early 13th century. The document outlines that Gilbert de Notton, a Norman who had acquired the land from Roger de Montbegon, granted his estate to Cockersand Abbey.
The Knights Hospitaller and Whalley Abbey held small estates in the township. In 1234, about 80 acres of land at Whitfield in Crompton were given to the Hospitallers,a rel igious order that provided care for poor, sick or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. A medieval cross has been discovered in the ruins of a house at Whitfield.
During the High Middle Ages, Crompton was a collection of scattered woods, farmsteads, moorland, swamp and a single corn mill, occupied by a small and close community of families.
The area was thinly populated and consisted of several dispersed hamlets, including Whitfield, High Crompton, Cowlishaw, Birshaw and Bovebeale.These hamlets were situated above the water-logged valley bottoms and below the exposed high moors.Owing to complicated local arrangements of land tenure, inheritance, and absentee landlords, the local lordship was weak, and Crompton failed to emerge as a manor with its own lord and court.
This slowly facilitated comparative freedoms and independence for the early people of Crompton,which encouraged the influx of families from the neighbouring parish of Rochdale, including the Buckleys, Cleggs, Greaves and Milnes.
During the Late Middle Ages, the Buckley and Crompton families were recorded as the largest landowners in Crompton, owning land and farmsteads at Whitfield and Crompton Fold respectively. The Crompton family has a well-documented history and can be traced back to the time of Magna Carta, appearing in the Assize Roll for 1245. Crompton is indigenous to the township, and first appears as a family name in the 13th century, when the locality's principal landowner, Hugh de la Legh, changed his family name to "de Crompton" (of Crompton), to reflect the estate he possessed. The family owned a large historic house by the name of Crompton Hall, on the site of Crompton Fold. Crompton Hall first appears in historical records as early as 1442, owned by Thomas de Crompton and his family. The original "medieval" Crompton Hall was demolished around 1848. A second Crompton Hall, set in its own prominent forested grounds, was erected by the family—by then an influential and affluent investor in the local cotton industry—but following the death of the last remaining family members, the site was sold and, in 1950, the house was demolished to make way for an exclusive development of bungalows.
Because of the poor soils and rugged terrain, Samuel Lewis said Crompton's inhabitants were "a race of hardy and laborious men".
They have also been described as having a reputation for being a "hardy, frugal and somewhat independent breed",which has been attributed to the tradition of absentee landlords and self-sustenance in earlier times.
There had been a chapel of ease at the hamlet of Shaw since at least the early 16th century, but, due to ecclesiastical arrangements for the parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, the inhabitants were obliged to contribute money towards Oldham Parish Church, which in turn had obligation to the mother Church of St Mary the Virgin at Prestwich. On several occasions during the 15th and 16th centuries, the Archdeacon of Chester had to intervene because Crompton's inhabitants refused to contribute towards holy bread and candles used at Prestwich. In 1826, a poll was taken regarding the re-building of Oldham Church. Not one person in Crompton voted in favour of the rebuilding and when a rate was levied to raise money for the new church at Oldham, the people of Crompton refused to pay.
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During the winter months remember our feline friends!
There are quite a stray cats living in SHAW..
If you are aware of any living close to you, maybe you have been feeding them, remember them in the winter months.
Most of the time, they take care of themselves, scavenging and hunting for their meals while also depending on the kindnesses of cat lovers, but things can get a lot chancier when the weather turns cold..
If you are unable to bring them indoors, provide them with some kind of outside shelter, your garden shed or greenhouse.
Homemade shelters can be made out of nearly anything and should be placed in a sheltered place, from a sturdy cardboard box (think of the heavy cardboard used for packing television sets) to an anchored plastic litter bin to a few pieces of scrap wood that have been arranged as a buffer against the wind and snow and rain. Not too wide or tall. In fact, the smaller the size, the better the space will be equipped to retain the cats’ body heat.
And don't forget to put out fresh water regularly! In really cold temperatures it will freeze up!
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Woodend Mill
Traded as A. and A. Crompton and Co. In 1883 a 2000 ihp condensing compound J & E Wood engine was fitted. The mill burnt down in 1920
Rutland Mill
Built and run by Rutland Mill Ltd. until it was absorbed, along with many other Crompton based mill companies, into the Courtaulds Group in 1964. In the late 1980s, as Courtaulds moved operations to other parts of the world, the mill was bought by Littlewoods. Under the Littlewoods name it was run as warehousing for a short time before it was demolished and replaced by a new automated storage warehouse. A section of the North-West wall still remains, complete with painted white brick, and is supporting the incline of the entrance road.
Oak Mill
A terrace building on Moor Street, which was the original lodge for this mill, remained standing for 75 years after the demise of the mill. After years of neglect, it began to collapse until it was completely demolished in 2012. Known as 'Oak Works', the building has had various planning applications submitted for development but never came to fruition. The latest application to build 10 apartments on the site has been approved.
Lily 2 Mill
Currently part of Littlewoods' Shaw National Distribution Centre who have adapted the mill for warehousing and bulk storage for their catalogue distribution operations. It's linked on four levels to Lily (No.1) mill by a massive bridge and to Newby (Elm) mill by a newer building. It's also linked on one level by another huge bridge to the company's new sorting centre built on the site of the Dee, Ash and Vale mills. Workers based here seldom refer to this mill as Lily or Lily 2 instead preferring to use the term 'Shaw 2'
Lily 1 Mill
Currently part of Littlewoods' Shaw National Distribution Centre who have adapted the mill for offices and warehousing for their catalogue distribution operations. It's linked on four levels to Lily (No.2) mill by a massive bridge.
Workers based here seldom refer to this mill as Lily or Lily 1 instead preferring to use the term 'Shaw 1'
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Workers based here seldom refer to this mill as Lily or Lily 1 instead preferring to use the term 'Shaw 1'
Visit our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/ILoveSHAW
Lilac Mill
The building of Lilac actually began in 1914. The first attempt was thwarted by gale force winds on 14 September of that year which brought the predominantly iron structure to the ground with a thundering crash that could be heard for miles around. Fortunately no one was working there at the time and so there were no casualties.
The second attempt was completed by 1918 by which time its original purpose for cotton had become a lower priority to World War I and it was initially used as a factory for assembling aircraft components. Finally, it became used for spinning cotton in the following year. Lilac, along with Park Mill was the last mill in Shaw and Crompton to spin cotton in 1989.
Currently part of JD Williams Co Ltd National Distribution Centre, it has been adapted for offices and warehousing, linking in 2000 on two levels to the company's new highbay automated warehouse. The building is currently run by Fulfillment Logistics as a warehouse for the JD Williams catalogue order operation. It's linked by a bridge to Briar mill.
The second attempt was completed by 1918 by which time its original purpose for cotton had become a lower priority to World War I and it was initially used as a factory for assembling aircraft components. Finally, it became used for spinning cotton in the following year. Lilac, along with Park Mill was the last mill in Shaw and Crompton to spin cotton in 1989.
Currently part of JD Williams Co Ltd National Distribution Centre, it has been adapted for offices and warehousing, linking in 2000 on two levels to the company's new highbay automated warehouse. The building is currently run by Fulfillment Logistics as a warehouse for the JD Williams catalogue order operation. It's linked by a bridge to Briar mill.
Elm Mill
Opened as Elm mill in 1890 but the name was later changed to Newby.
The mill is currently part of Littlewoods' Shaw National Distribution Centre who have adapted it for warehousing and bulk storage for their catalogue distribution operations. It's linked by a new building to Lily mill and by a bridge to a newer building that occupies the site of Rutland mill. Signs of its cotton heritage can still be seen including its engine house with original crane system which is still largely intact.
Although named 'Shaw 3' by the company its official mill name 'Newby' is still affectionately used by workers at the site. 'Elm' is never used and most people, both workers and local residents, would be unaware of this original name.
The mill is currently part of Littlewoods' Shaw National Distribution Centre who have adapted it for warehousing and bulk storage for their catalogue distribution operations. It's linked by a new building to Lily mill and by a bridge to a newer building that occupies the site of Rutland mill. Signs of its cotton heritage can still be seen including its engine house with original crane system which is still largely intact.
Although named 'Shaw 3' by the company its official mill name 'Newby' is still affectionately used by workers at the site. 'Elm' is never used and most people, both workers and local residents, would be unaware of this original name.
Duke Mill
Post Cotton production, Duke Mill was home to Osram, the multinational light bulb manufacturer which occupied both Duke and Cape mills for many years. Osram have since moved away from the United Kingdom, however and the mill is now used for mail order processing. Duke Mill is currently the oldest surviving cotton mill in Crompton and arguably the best maintained
Dee Mill
The site is now occupied by approximately one seventh of Littlewoods' Shaw National Distribution Centre after the company purchased the land in 1984 and demolished it and neighbouring Ash mill. It technically wasn't completely demolished until 1996, its protected engine house was the only thing stopping further development to the site for over ten years.
Cape Mill
Cape Mill's chimney by steeplejack Fred Dibnah. This event was filmed and featured in his autobiographic TV series 'The Fred Dibnah Story'. The site remained empty for several years after the mills' demolition until the land was used for a brand new housing estate. The mill is survived by its original reservoir which is today used for fishing and its namesake Cape Bowling Club complete with bowling green.The only surviving legacy of Cape mill, its reservoir, which stands adjacent to Duke mill's reservoir and is also used for licensed fishing.
Briar Mill
Built and operated by Briar Mill Ltd. Which became bankrupt and refloated as Briar Mill (1920) Ltd. Sometime in the mid-1950s it was occupied by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation and later Courtaulds Ltd. in 1964. It ceased all cotton production in 1988 when it was converted for warehousing and distribution of catalogue items by a company which was then known as J.D. Williams Ltd. The company also purchased neighbouring Lilac Mill and constructed a bridge to join Briar's second floor to Lilac's first floor. In the early 2000s (decade), operation of the mill transferred to Fulfillment Logistics, a division of J.D. Williams, who continue to use the complex for the same purpose. In the 1980s, Bolton steeplejack Fred Dibnah was paid £7000 to demolish Briar mill's chimney one brick at a time. His efforts and dare-devil methods are documented in the his autobiographic BBC TV series 'The Fred Dibnah Story.
Beal Mill
In its relatively short life this original Beal mill was operated by many different companies.
William Taylor and Robinson & Co with the former still present in 1852 and later William Nutter and Co were documented to run the mill in 1861.
Upon its demise in 1875, a company called Marsden and Berry were running the mill.
Presently the site is occupied by Shaw Sheet Metal Co. Ltd.
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William Taylor and Robinson & Co with the former still present in 1852 and later William Nutter and Co were documented to run the mill in 1861.
Upon its demise in 1875, a company called Marsden and Berry were running the mill.
Presently the site is occupied by Shaw Sheet Metal Co. Ltd.
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Ash Mill
Ash Spinning Co. Ltd's was incorporated on 25 January 1883 to build a cotton spinning mill holding about 80,000 mule spindles. 'Ash' mill was one of two mills in Shaw that was built twice. The original attempt blew down in a gale two months before it was completed. Regardless of this the mill was still finished by its deadline at cost of £20,000.
The mill was extended twice in 1886 and 1920 respectively. It ceased production in 1984 and was demolished the following year. Ash's employees were transferred to Grape mill in neighbouring Royton.
After lying empty for 12 years, the site is now occupied by approximately one seventh of Littlewoods' Shaw National Distribution Centre.
The mill was extended twice in 1886 and 1920 respectively. It ceased production in 1984 and was demolished the following year. Ash's employees were transferred to Grape mill in neighbouring Royton.
After lying empty for 12 years, the site is now occupied by approximately one seventh of Littlewoods' Shaw National Distribution Centre.
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