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CINDERHILL
MILL
Halifax
Road, Castle Street, Todmorden |
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The mill in 1905 |
Cinderhill
Mill was built before 1801, although nothing is known of its
origins. It stands by the roadside at Castle Street on the
main road from Todmorden to Halifax, and stretches back to
the railway, which appeared in the 1830's. The first known
occupier was John Howarth between 1805 and 1820, although
almost certainly owned by Richard Ingham, a wealthy yeoman
from the Castle area of Stansfield. |
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Richard
Ingham died in 1810, leaving his wealth to his three sons,
Richard, John and William. |
The
same view exactly 100 years later |
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In January 1818, the following advertisement was placed in the Leeds Mercury, offering the mill and several other parts of the Ingham estate for sale by auction.
The Leeds Mercury (Leeds, England), Saturday, January 3, 1818
CINDERHILL FACTORY
And other valuable premises, in Stansfield and Langfield
To Be sold by auction by Mr. Abraham Scholfield at the house of Mr. David Cawthorn, at the Golden Lion in Todmorden, in the Parish of Halifax, in the County of York, on Thursday, the eighth day of January 1818, between the hours of four and six in the afternoon, subject to such conditions as will be then and there produced in the following Lots:-
Lot 1st
All that newly er…….… built factory, call………..known by the name of the Cinderhill Factory, situate near a place called the New Shop, in Stansfield, in the parish of Halifax aforesaid, and now in the tenure or occupation of Mr. JOHN HAUWORTH, or his undertenants. And also, all that plot, piece, or parcel of land or ground, as the same is now staked, marked and set out, in the south westerly corner of a certain close of land adjoining, on the south easterly sided of the said factory, called Cinderhill Meadow, with the said plot, piece or parcel of land or ground, including the fold and yard at the said factory, contains by admeasurement 1133 square yards.
N.B. The above mentioned factory is 24 yards in length, 12 yards in breadth, 5 stories high, well wooded, and adjoins to the Halifax and Burnley turnpike road, lies contiguous to the Rochdale Canal, and within one mile of the commercial village of Todmorden, and eleven of Halifax, and the above mentioned plot of land as now set out, is particularly eligible and well adapted for converting into a mill dam or reservoir, on account of there being an excellent strong spring of water therein, which is constant in all seasons.
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Why the Ingham family offered the factory for sale is unknown. What is known, however, is that it remained in the hands of the Ingham family for many more years to come.
Initially,
the mill would have been water powered for spinning only, although
by the 1830's, the Inghams had installed steam power and used Cinderhill
for weaving as well as spinning. The looms were housed in rooms
in the old building. About 1875, the family added a new weaving
shed to contain 300 power-looms. The shed extended from the mill
yard along the roadside and across the land to the railway lines
at the back.
On
18th March 1893, John Arthur Ingham junior opened new rooms at the
mill for the use of the workforce as a Working Men's Club. It was
known as the Castle Street Working Men's club, and was fitted out
with all the requisites for dining, reading and billiards. John
was probably standing in for his father who suffered from Bright's
Disease and was seen rarely outside his own home.
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These
photos, kindly submitted by John Alan Longbottom, show the
state of dereliction that now prevails
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By
the time John Arthur Ingham senior died in 1900, there were
no heirs prepared to carry on with the business. Despite
inheriting their father's mills, John's two sons went their
own ways. John Arthur junior was a Solicitor and Henry lived
as a Gentleman, with occasional attempts at local politics.
They lived at the family home, The Shaw, in Langfield with
their elderly widowed mother, Sarah, and a handful of servants,
later moving to live at Adamroyd in Stansfield.
Other
textile firms working at the mill during the late 1800's
were Messrs. Barker & Greenwood, Mr. Elias Barker and
Messrs. James Bancroft & Co. In 1908, the mill became
an engineering works trading as Thwaite & Dobson, followed
by T. Hallas & Co. (a rubber works). It was then converted
back to cotton preparation, and until a few years ago, it
was still in use as a textile mill (one of the very few
remaining in the area), employing 30 hands for scutching,
carding and spinning cotton. The mill is now closed and
up for sale.
There
are two events recorded in the Annals of Todmorden:
31st
October 1907
Death,
in Halifax Infirmary, of Joe Farrer (37), engine tenter, 342 Castle
Street, who fractured his spine by falling from a boiler at Cinderhill
Mill on September 9th.
26th
March 1911
Disastrous
fire at the rubber works of Messrs. T. Hallas & Co, Cinderhill
Mill. Damage over £2,000.
The
Ingham family also owned WOODHOUSE MILL across the road by the canal,
and their story is detailed in the article on that mill.
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