Mills

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We went to Quarry Bank Mill to compare the differences between mills in inner city Manchester and a mill in what was once countryside.

Our guide Margaret told us that Samuel Gregg was a very good person, he was a very rich man and had the mill built in the year 1784. He took children from about the age of eight into his care; their parents were glad of this because he paid them a small sum of money when they signed the children over to him. It also helped the rest of the family forever after, because that was one less mouth to feed. Samuel put them to work in the mill for twelve hours a day he also taught them to read and write, and he provided them with their meals. He built a house especially for the children and next to the house he planted allotments so they could grow their own fruit and vegetables. He later built some houses for his older workers in a nearby village.

'From the late 40's/early 50's. from leaving school at 15, till I was 18, I worked in a mill. It was noisy and hard work.'
Joyce

'When the mill workers was coming out of work, they was full of cotton, all white like snow.'
Annie

'During the war we used to have to do the washing down in the cellar, in a copper boiler. There was a stone floor and a grid in the middle to let the water out. Outside of the war, my mam used the public wash house. It was somewhere round by Ancoats Hospital. You could iron sheets with rollers.'
Joyce

'Where we lived, in the country, there was often a thick fog early in the morning, but it was white, not black, like the Manchester fogs. We got up at 6 o'clock.

We had a chicken called Peggy. My mother killed her for Christmas dinner, but we wouldn't eat it. Even Dad wouldn't eat it. We buried Peggy in a cardboard box. I bet my mum dug her up afterwards, and we ate it later, but we didn't know. We had to have corned beef for Christmas dinner, but at least we had corned beef to have!'
Laura

'I was a weaver, working at Christies, in Droylsden. I had eight looms. I started at 7.30, we had 45 minutes for our dinner and finished at half past five. I used to put my name and address in the hand & face towels, for hotels and big liners, & sometimes a sailor would reply. We only did it for a bit of fun, but my mam used to go mad. She'd say, 'Somebody will be turning up here, you know.' I used to work till Saturday dinner, and then I went straight on to Belle Vue, to work on the amusements, in the pay boxes till half past ten at night. We thought nothing of it then. I did it for a bit of extra money, for my holidays, because most of your normal pay went to your mother. She'd give me back half a crown, for myself.'
Joan 1

'I used to work in a cotton mill near Ardwick Green. I had to carry a big yarn to put in the bobbins on top of the machine. One day my two hands went in the machine. Somebody went running for the boss, but I managed to get my hands out. I had to give it up because my dad was ill and my mam needed me at home to give her a lift. She had a lot to do, looking after my dad. '
Joan 2

'My mam was a ring spinner all through the war, at the Junction Mill, Greengate, which is towards Hollinwood. She went to the poor school, as it was called, and when she left school she was a milliner, making hats.'
Joyce

'My mother used to work in McConnell's Mill, in Union Street, now Redhill Street. She was a jack tenter and worked there for ten years. Her boss was Teddy Rose.'
Olive

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Snippets of conversations heard during our visits
“Samuel was very clever he encouraged people to come to this village because even though life was very hard working in the mill - conditions were still better than they would have to put up with in the busier places of towns like Manchester.”

“I loved going to the mill, I used to work in a mill so it brought back lots of memories I even had a go at the painting, I wasn't very good but that didn't matter, I still enjoyed it-unfortunately it was a very cold day and my hands were freezing.”

“The painting was good, I have never tried to paint since I left school, so it was like a new experience for me. The day was very sunny but bitterly cold.”

“Where I lived there were two mills on opposite sides of the canal, my mother and sister worked in one mill and I worked in the other mill. During the dinner hour, (well it wasn't an hour I think it was only half an hour!) I
would go outside onto the canal and my mother would be on the other side and we'd wave to each other. I always remember that.”

“When we went to Quarry Bank Mill we did a bit of walking, and a lot of talking about the mills and how hard the work used to be. Even in our younger days it was hard work in a mill. But when you hear stories about how people used to get on and have a laugh they make it sound really good. They always say "It didn't do us any harm" and "we know the value of working for our money". Even though they worked long hours people still had energy to go out and enjoy themselves at dance halls, picture houses, watching boxing matches etc.”

“ We went on a mini bus to a Mill near Manchester Airport, it was called Quarry Bank Mill. I really liked the mill, there was lots of interesting things in there, things that used to be in mills years ago. There was a lady who took us round the mill and told us all about it. People who worked in the mills had a really hard life they used to get up at about five in the morning and start work at six. Children used to work in the mills and they had to work very long hours as well. At Quarry Bank mill, the man who had it built was a good boss and he used to give the children their meals, it was usually some sort of porridge but they didn't sit down at the table to eat it, the porridge was so thick, the children were given a cold slice of it and they ate it while they were working! I wouldn't have liked to have to do that. ”

“I really enjoyed the field trip to Quarry Bank Mill, I learned a lot about the history of mills that I didn't know. I tried and enjoyed using some pastels to draw a picture of the mill but decided that would be too difficult, so tried to draw the countryside around me; it was O.K. for my first attempt, but the wind kept blowing my paper about and I found the pastels very messy, my hands were covered in all colours by the time I finished, that was quite funny though because I chose pastels because I knew I would only make a mess with paints.”

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