SPRING MILL, EARBY, YORKSHIRE. BOB KING INFORMATION

[Stanley]

SPRING MILL, EARBY, YORKSHIRE

THE BEGINNING. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BUILDING OF THE MILL.

BY R.W.KING C.TEXT.F.T.I.

FOREWORD: THE BUILDING OF A MILL. BAILEY,WATSON &BERRY LIMITED.

[Bob King sent this to me on 21 September 2004 and I have scanned it for inclusion on the Oneguy site. There is a manuscript extract from the minutes and I have inserted this in Italics]

First meeting held Nov. 29th 1889. Resolved:
1.That Mr Thomas Bailey be appointed chairman of the company.
2.That Mr W N Berry be appointed secretary of the company.
3.That the value of the shares shall be fixed at £25 per share.

Meeting held December 4th 1889.
1.That Mr Thomas Bailey be appointed to see Mr William Gill and try to arrange about price of rent to be paid for 72 looms for three years or six and a half years at the company’s option and that Messrs Jas(?) and Charles Watson go and measure the room and see how much warehouse room is allowed.
2.That £130 be offered to Mr William Gill for the 12 looms and beaming frames which he has to sell.
3.That as the standard price for a 40 inch reed space loom is 38/- per loom per annum we offer 36/- for a 36 inch reed space loom.
4.That Mr Thomas Bailey Messrs Jas and Chas Watson form a deputation to see Mr William Gill tomorrow morning.
5.That the name of the company be Bailey, Watson and Berry Ltd.


It was a cold November evening, the year was 1889, the house was that of Thomas Bailey of Earby. the fire was lit, the wicks were trimmed and the lamps shone on the polished mahogany table. those present were:

Thomas Bailey, James Smith Watson, Charles Watson, Nathan Watson, Charles Watson Bailey, Albert Bailey, Wm. Nehemiah Berry.

Thomas Bailey addressed the meeting:

"Gentlemen, we are met tonight to discuss the forming of a company to weave cotton piece goods. There is an opportunity to buy some looms and beaming machines from Wm. Gill of the Grove Mill Earby and that we buy 30 new plain looms from Cooper Bros Ltd and 30 six shuttle revolving box looms from Geo. Hattersley & Sons. This equipment to be located at Grove Mill under room and power at an average cost of 37/- per 40 inch reed space loom per annum"


This resolution was passed and Thomas Bailey was elected chairman and W N Berry was appointed secretary.

The share capital to be 240 shares at a price of 25 pounds per share - a total of 6000 pounds.

February 3rd. 1890, Messrs Thomas Bailey, J S Watson and W N Berry be appointed to manage the general business of the company.

December 5th. 1892 a request to the landlord Wm. Gill for more space to accommodate 80 more looms.

August 9th. 1894 a request to Wm. Gill for enough space to accommodate 352 looms, the same reed width as the present looms.

January 22nd. 1895 it was proposed by Charles Watson and seconded by James Watson that a new shed be built for the company. That an offer to James Shuttleworth be made for an acre of land in Ireland meadow for this new shed.

February 19th. 1895 an offer of land by John Bailey at 1/6d per square yard was finally accepted to build a shed to accommodate 432 looms.


THE NEW SHED.

Architect. Mr. Atkinson of Colne. clerk of works. Mr. Atkinson of Colne. Cost:- one hundred and twenty two pounds ten shillings.

Conveyancing of the land: Wright, Charlesworth and Wilson of Skipton.

Mason's work:- Cowgill and Wilkinson. cost:- one thousand, five hundred and sixty pounds.

Joiners:- Charles Watson. Cost:- five hundred and fifty five pounds.

Engine:- Burnley Iron Co. cost:- seven hundred and twenty five pounds.

Boiler:- Adamson and Co. Cost:- two hundred and sixty pounds.

Slating:- Wm. Stanworth. Cost:- three hundred and ninety five pounds.

Plumbing:- Wm. Varley and Sons. Cost:- one hundred and fifty pounds.

Plastering:- Heap and Thornton. Cost:- one hundred and forty eight pounds.

Millwright and iron:- Ellison and Co. Cost:- one thousand and eighty eight pounds.

The mason's contract does not include the flagging.
Flagging:- Siddall of Stacksteads. Three inch machine faced Rossendale flags. Each flag 6 super feet upwards.

Concreting of the warehouse:- Nutalls of Barnoldswick at 2/10d per yard.

Installation of a power main by Earby and Thornton Gas and Lighting Co.

Electric lighting:- Keighley Electrical Eng. Co. Cost:- two hundred and thirty pounds. The lamps to be "high efficiency” and the dynamo to have the slide rail for tightening the strap" at a cost of three pounds, ten shillings extra.

An agreement was made between the company and John Edmondson to supply water to the shed by a stream in the land called Nicky Laithe.

J S Watson to investigate the best stokers for the boiler and also whether to install Green's Economisers.

The architect to investigate the best means of fencing off the new shed.

Driving ropes:- Harts. Cost:- twenty pounds thirteen shillings. but they must supply the labour to install.

September 11th 1895 it was decided to call the new shed "Park Shed". however this was rescinded on November 18th. 1895 that the new shed be named "Spring Mill".

November 25th. 1895. Cowgill and Wilkinson were requested by the architect to excavate the lodge for the water supply and for the new road to the warehouse at the same rate as other excavating work already done.

November 25th. 1895 at an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders5 the following resolution was confirmed:

"that the nominal capital of the company be increased from six thousand pounds to fifteen thousand pounds by the creation of 360 shares of twenty five pounds each.

April 13 . 1896. It was confirmed that the new shed at Spring Mill be opened on Saturday 25th. April 1896. To have a knife and fork tea to christen the engine “Alice Ann”. The starting of the new engine by the chairman of the company Mr. Thomas Bailey. W N Berry and Charles Bailey to arrange a programme of entertainment. The wives of the directors to "get up a tea committee”. The engine to be started in the presence of the members of the company and their families with the architect and the engineers. The engine to start at 3.30 p.m. the tea to start at 4.30 p.m. The entertainment to start at 6.30 p.m. if possible but not later than 7.00 p.m.


COMMENTS BY THE AUTHOR.

I have in my possession the original minute book of the company. This was found in the room where the reeds and some of the healds were kept in 1960. I have kept this hoping one day to write a story round the town, the mill and the families who worked there.

I have had to try to condense 7 years into a few pages and I hope this is of interest to people who are involved with the history of Earby. Many local names were involved in the building of the new shed.

I was unable to ascertain who built the mill chimney and what the cost was, but I was told that the two steeplejacks from a firm called O’Mara from Burnley, spent as much time in the White Lion as they did erecting the chimney and that it had a definite lean on it at the top, which had to be rectified!!!

Bailey, Watson and Berry Limited looked well to the future, they not only wove plain grey fabric but they also had a coloured section (which eventually became W N Berry Ltd of Foulridge) this meant that they employed weavers, tacklers, beamers and winders all with different skills.

There is no mention of a tape sizing machine in the early days, so I can only assume that they had their grey warps sized at a commission sizer and that they bought their coloured yarn as ball warps and scotch dressed them on site.

Bob King.

[Kelvin]

This shed is soon to be demolished and site filled with 54 nasty little 'tacky' boxes.

[Stanley]

Thanks for posting that Kelvin. It completes the story of the mill.......