View source for Quarry Bank Mill

{{Short description|Preserved textile mill in Cheshire, England}}
{{Distinguish|Quarry Bank}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox mill building
| name                 = Quarry Bank Mill
| building_name        = <!--FLASE
Styal]] nr [[Wilmslow]], [[Cheshire]], [[England]]-->
|image                = File:Quarry Bank Mill 2016 020.jpg
| serving_railway     =
| owner               = [[Samuel Greg]]
| owner_2             = [[National Trust]]
| acquisition_date_2  = 1939
| owner_3             =
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| owner_4             =
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| coordinates         = {{Coord|53.34390|-2.24950|type:landmark_region:GB|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| oscoor              =
| start_date          = {{Start date|1784}}
| completion_date     =
| renovation_date     = 1796, 1817–1821
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| engine_date           = 1796, 1810
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| engine_maker          = Boulton & Watt
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| width_of_wheel          = {{convert|21|ft|m}}
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{{Infobox designation list
| embed                   = yes
| designation1_offname = Quarry Bank Mill
| designation1            = Grade II*
| designation1_date       = 30 March 1951
| designation1_number     = {{listed building England|1237687}}
}}
}}

'''Quarry Bank Mill''' (also known as '''Styal Mill''') in [[Styal]], [[Cheshire]], England, is one of the best preserved [[Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution|textile factories of the Industrial Revolution]].  Built in 1784, the [[cotton mill]] is recorded in the [[National Heritage List for England]] as a designated Grade&nbsp;II* [[Listed building#England and Wales|listed building]].<ref name="images">{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1237687|desc= Quarry Bank Mill|access-date= 11 September 2013}}</ref> Quarry Bank Mill was established by [[Samuel Greg]], and was notable for innovations both in machinery and also in its approach to labour relations, the latter largely as a result of the work of Greg's wife, [[Hannah Lightbody]]. The family took a somewhat paternalistic attitude toward the workers, providing medical care for all and limited education to the children, but all laboured roughly 72 hours per week until 1847 when a new law shortened the hours.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hannahbarker.net/ |title=Historical Guide to the Apprentice House, Quarry Bank Professor Hannah Barker, U of Manchester |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228013348/https://hannahbarker.net/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hannahbarker.net/2019/10/19/historical-guide-to-styal-village-and-13-oak-cottages/ |title=Professor Hannah Barker, U of Manchester |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119021748/https://hannahbarker.net/2019/10/19/historical-guide-to-styal-village-and-13-oak-cottages/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Greg also built housing for all of his workers, in a large community now known as Styal Estate. Some were conversions of farm houses, or older residences but 42 new cottages, including the Oak Cottages (now Grade II Listed), were built in the 1820s when the mill was being expanded.<ref name="hannahbarker.net">{{Cite web |url=https://hannahbarker.net/2019/10/19/historical-guide-to-styal-village-and-13-oak-cottages/ |title=Historical Guide to Styal Village and 13 Oak Cottages, Quarry Bank, Professor Hannah Barker, University of Manchester |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119021748/https://hannahbarker.net/2019/10/19/historical-guide-to-styal-village-and-13-oak-cottages/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{NHLE |num=1222362 |desc=Oak Cottages |grade=II |fewer-links=yes |access-date=23 June 2021}}</ref>

The [[National Trust]], which runs the mill and Styal Estate as a museum that is open to the public, calls the site "one of Britain's greatest industrial heritage sites, home to a complete industrial community".<ref>{{cite web |title=Quarry Bank |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank |website=National Trust |access-date=2 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref> According to the [[Council of Europe]], the mill with Styal village make up "the most complete and least altered factory colony of the Industrial Revolution. It is of outstanding national and international importance".<ref name="QUARRY BANK MILL">{{cite web |url=https://www.erih.net/i-want-to-go-there/site/quarry-bank-mill |title=Quarry Bank Mill |work=European Route of Industrial Heritage |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=23 June 2021}}</ref>

==Location==
Quarry Bank Mill is on the outskirts of [[Styal]] in [[Cheshire]], abutting and to the south of [[Manchester Airport]].
The mill is on the bank of the [[River Bollin]], which provided water to power the waterwheels. It was connected by road to the [[Bridgewater Canal]] for transporting raw cotton from the port of Liverpool.{{sfn|Westall|1994|loc=Illustration 59}} The site consisted of three farms or folds. [[Styal railway station]] opened in 1909, about a {{convert|1/3|mi|km}} away.<ref>{{Google Maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/National+Trust+-+Quarry+Bank/@53.3476763,-2.2437787,1126m|title=National Trust - Quarry Bank}}</ref>

==History==

[[Samuel Greg]] leased land at Quarrell Hole on Pownall Fee from Lord Stamford, who imposed a condition that "none of the surrounding trees should be pruned, felled or lopped"; maintaining the woodland character of the area. One reason for selecting this location was the "suitable head of water provided by the River Bollin and its proximity to the Bridgewater Canal and thus Liverpool".<ref name="QUARRY BANK MILL"/> The factory was built in 1784 by Greg<ref name=spinning>{{cite web|url=http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/m_display.php?irn=35&sub=rural&theme=places&crumb=Quarry+Bank+Mill|title=Quarry Bank Mill history|access-date=25 September 2007|archive-date=24 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121224063540/http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/m_display.php?irn=35&sub=rural&theme=places&crumb=Quarry+Bank+Mill|url-status=dead}}</ref> to [[spinning (textiles)|spin]] cotton. When Greg retired in 1832, it was the largest such business in the United Kingdom. The water-powered Georgian mill still produces cotton [[Calico (fabric)|calico]]. The Gregs were careful and pragmatic, paternalistic mill owners, and the mill underwent expansion and change throughout its history. When Greg's son, [[Robert Hyde Greg]], took over the business, he introduced [[weaving]]. Samuel Greg died in 1834.

An 1835 report provided these specifics about the mill: "It is driven by an elegant water-wheel, thirty-two feet in diameter, and twenty-four feet broad, equivalent in power to one
hundred and twenty horses"<ref name="europepmc.org">[https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC1037937&blobtype=pdf QUARRY BANK MILL BY ROBERT MURRAY, British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 4 September 1957]</ref>

The Mill was attacked during the [[1842 General Strike|Plug Plot riots]] on 10 August 1842.<ref>{{Cite news|date=20 August 1842|title=The Disturbances in the Manufacturing Districts|page=232|work=Illustrated London News|url=https://www.iln.org.uk/iln_years/year/1842%20aug%2020%20riots%202.html|access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref>

The mill's iron [[water wheel]], the fourth to be installed, was designed by [[Thomas Hewes]] and built between 1816 and 1820.  Overhead shafts above the machines were attached to the water wheel by a belt. When the wheel turned, the motion moved the belt and powered the machinery. A beam engine and a horizontal steam engine were subsequently installed to supplement the power. The Hewes wheel broke in 1904, but the River Bollin continued to power the mill through two water turbines. The mill owners purchased a Boulton and Watt steam engine in 1810 and a few years later acquired another, as the river's water level was often low in the summer, which could interrupt cloth production for several years. Steam engines could produce power all year round. Today the mill houses the most powerful working waterwheel in Europe, an iron wheel moved from [[Glasshouses Mill]] at [[Pateley Bridge]] designed by [[Sir William Fairbairn]] who had been Hewes' apprentice.

===Mill community===
The sparse accommodation that existed when the Gregs built the mill was soon exhausted, and Greg built plain cottages, including the Oak Cottages, which are now Grade II listed; these were rented to his workers. Each house had a parlour, kitchen and two bedrooms (a [[two-up two-down]]), an outside privy and a small garden. Rent was deducted from the workers' wages.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=155}} The area of worker housing became known as Styal Estate.

[[File:Oak Cottages, Styal (2).jpg|thumb|Part of the Oak Cottages at Styal]]

The Gregs owned a home in Manchester but also built a home near the mill in 1797, called "Quarry Bank House".<ref>[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank/features/samuel-greg-of-quarry-bank Samuel Greg and the beginnings of Quarry Bank]</ref> The building has been Grade II listed since 1975.<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1237686 Quarry Bank House, List Entry Number 1237686]</ref> It was restored in 2017 in a manner that ensured that "all primary features dating from the Greg family’s occupation have been retained", and was opened to visits by the public by the National Trust.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://buttress.net/project/quarry-bank-mill/ |title=Quarry Bank |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123050519/https://buttress.net/project/quarry-bank-mill/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank/projects/step-inside-quarry-bank-house Step inside Quarry Bank House]</ref>

Samuel Greg, like [[Robert Owen]], who built [[New Lanark]], attempted to bring the structured order of a country village to his new industrial centres. He built Oak School to educate the children and the [[Norcliffe Chapel]] where the villagers worshipped and held a [[Sunday school]].{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|pp=155–7}}

[[File:Cottages and path, Styal village - geograph.org.uk - 416390.jpg|thumb|Workers' cottages at Styal Estate]]

At first, Greg converted farm buildings in Styal to house workers. As the mill increased in size, new housing was constructed for the workers.<ref name=village>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/history/victorian/quarrybankmill.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020216000025/http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/history/victorian/quarrybankmill.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=16 February 2002|title=Styal Village|access-date=25 September 2007}}</ref> According to the National Trust, in the 1820s, "... new terraced cottages brought a brand new style of architecture and an expanding population ... In the tiny two-up-two-down cottages workers lived in cramped conditions, with as many as 14 people living in one house and tenants sub-letting rooms to other mill workers".<ref>[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank/features/discover-the-stories-of-the-workers-in-styal-village Discover the stories of the workers in Styal village]</ref>

The Gregs also built the village shop and, for roughly five decades, remained the owners.<ref name="hannahbarker.net"/>

Medical care for mill workers was provided by staff physicians and surgeons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.inpursuitofplants.co.uk/post/ep3-the-natural-world-of-quarry-bank-mill |title=Ep3: The Natural World of Quarry Bank Mill |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121143817/https://www.inpursuitofplants.co.uk/post/ep3-the-natural-world-of-quarry-bank-mill |url-status=dead }}</ref> The mill provided the "earliest recorded occupational health service in this country", according to an article in the [[British Journal of Industrial Medicine]].<ref>[https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Peter-Holland%3A-a-pioneer-of-occupational-medicine.-Murray/b9951185482706b5b398a23a32bbdaf6599f1b9d Peter Holland: a pioneer of occupational medicine, R Murray]</ref>

===Apprentice system===
[[File:Apprentice House, Quarry Bank Mill - geograph.org.uk - 734182.jpg|thumb|The Apprentice House where up to 90 children lived]]
Quarry Bank Mill employed [[Child labour#History|child apprentices]], a system that continued only until 1847. Most were children of families in poverty, living in [[workhouse]]s, which sent them to the mill which was "clamouring for cheap labour". At the time, the consensus was that the children were better off in labour than they would have been under 'the step-motherly care of the Poor Law'", according to a reliable source.<ref name="europepmc.org"/><ref>Examination of Thomas Priestly, 2 August 1806, Manchester Central Reference Library, C5/8/9/5 (1806)</ref> Initially, the children were brought from Hackney and Chelsea but by 1834 they came mostly from neighbouring parishes or Liverpool poorhouses.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=155}}

The last child to be indentured started work in 1841. Child labour constituted over half of the labour force in the early decades of the mill's operation, according to Prof Hannah Barker, chair of Manchester Histories at the [[University of Manchester]]. "By 1833 apprentices made up only 20% of workforce at Styal, and in 1847 the apprentice system was completely abandoned".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hannahbarker.net/ |title=Historical Guide to the Apprentice House, Quarry Bank |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228013348/https://hannahbarker.net/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The first children apprentices lived in lodgings in the neighbourhood, then in 1790 Greg built the  [[Apprentice House, Quarry Bank Mill|Apprentice House]] near the factory.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=155}} Greg believed he could get the best out of his workers by treating them fairly. He hired a superintendent to attend to their care and morals, and members of the Greg family and external tutors gave them lessons.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=155}}

Some of the work was dangerous, with fingers sometimes being severed by the machines.{{sfn|Bourne|2007|p=27}} Samuel Greg employed Peter Holland, father of the Royal Physician [[Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet]] and uncle of [[Elizabeth Gaskell]], as mill doctor. Holland was responsible for the health of the children and other workers, and was the first doctor to be employed in such a capacity.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/27727441?seq=1 Peter Holland: A Pioneer of Occupational Medicine]</ref>

Life for the children was not ideal, of course. Hours were long: 12 hours per day, six days a week, according to documents from 1794.<ref>[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank/features/rights-of-the-child-exhibition Rights of the Child exhibition]</ref> Time for play was allowed only on Sunday afternoons. Still, their "diet appears to have been a relatively good one", according to Professor Barker's research, and some education was provided. (The Gregs were [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]] who believed in educating their workers, including Sunday School for both sexes.) Initially, schooling was provided only for boys, for an hour on three evenings of the week, at most; by 1833 the mill claimed that girls were also getting some education on Sunday afternoons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hannahbarker.net/2015/12/05/hard-work-and-hellfire-educating-the-children-at-apprentice-house/ |title=Hard work and hellfire: educating the children at Apprentice House, Prof Hannah Barker, U of Manchester |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227234752/https://hannahbarker.net/2015/12/05/hard-work-and-hellfire-educating-the-children-at-apprentice-house/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> A comparative study of child mill workers of the era by Katrina Honeyman indicated that "those at Quarry Bank were treated 'better than average', but that the Gregs were not amongst the best employers in the country".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hannahbarker.net/ |title=Historical Guide to the Apprentice House, Quarry Bank, Prof Hannah Barker, U of Manchester |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228013348/https://hannahbarker.net/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A former director of the Quarry Bank Mill, and author of a book about Hannah Greg, provided this summary of child labour, based on extensive research.<ref>[https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/homes-and-gardens/places-to-live/the-true-story-behind-quarry-bank-mill-the-inspiration-for-7114400 The true story behind Quarry Bank Mill the inspiration for the Channel 4 drama]</ref><blockquote>Over half of Samuel Greg’s workforce were poor and orphaned children ... the children were given good medical care by the Greg family doctor, and education in writing and maths three nights a week ... although the child workers were not subjected to corporal punishment, bad behaviour brought overtime, threats that girls would have their heads shaved or young workers being locked in a room for days on a porridge-only diet".</blockquote>

===20th and 21st century===

The estate and mill were eventually inherited by Robert Hyde Greg and then by Alexander Carlton Greg, who donated the site in 1939 to the [[National Trust]].<ref>[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank/features/the-history-of-quarry-bank-mill the Greg Family]</ref> The mill continued in production until 1959. According to the historic listing, the {{convert|32|ft|m|adj=on}} diameter waterwheel was replaced by two turbines in 1904. Some restoration was completed in 1969.<ref name="historicengland.org.uk">[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1237687 Quarry Bank Mill]</ref>

In 2006, the National Trust acquired Quarry Bank House and its gardens, and in 2010 the gardener's house and the upper gardens.<ref name = "NT">National Trust Magazine, Spring 2013</ref> In 2013 the mill received 130,000 visitors.<ref name=bbc /> In 2013, the trust launched an appeal to raise £1.4 million to restore a worker's cottage, a shop and the Greg's glasshouses and digitise records relating to Gregs and the mill workers.<ref name=bbc>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-21424159 BBC News: Project to restore Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire] (accessed 12 February 2013)</ref>

During 2015–2020, the Quarry Bank Project improved the site for visitors with a £9.4 million restoration. "New areas have been restored and for the first time ever visitors can now explore the complete industrial heritage site at Quarry Bank".<ref>[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank/features/the-quarry-bank-project-2014-2019 The Quarry Bank Project 2015–2020]</ref> A promotional video published by the Trust depicts scenes and activities that visitors can experience.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TOI1Fh8kgo Quarry Bank Mill, The National Trust 2 May 2019]</ref>

==Architecture==
[[File:Quarry Bank Mill - geograph.org.uk - 793912.jpg|thumb|right|Front elevation of Quarry Bank Mill]]
Quarry Bank is an example of an early, rural, cotton-spinning mill that was initially dependent on water power. The first mill was built by Samuel Greg and John Massey in 1784. Its design was functional and unadorned, growing out of the pragmatism of the men who felt no need to make a bold architectural statement.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=161}} It was a four-storey mill measuring {{convert|8.5|m|ft|order=flip}} by {{convert|27.5|m|ft|order=flip}}, with an attached staircase, counting house and warehouse. It was designed to use [[water frame]]s, which had just come out of patent, and the increased supply of cotton caused by the cessation of the [[American War of Independence]]. The water wheel was at the north end of the mill.

The mill was extended in 1796 when it was doubled in length and a fifth floor added. A second wheel was built at the southern end. The mill was extended between 1817 and 1820, and a mansard-roofed wing was added to part of the 1796 building forward, beneath which the wheel was installed. The new building kept the 1784 detailing with respect to line and windows.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=}} The 1784 mill ran 2425 spindles. After 1805, with the new wheel, it ran 3452 spindles.{{sfn|Bourne|2007|p=12}}

Weaving sheds were added in 1836 and 1838, and they were of two storeys and housed 305 looms.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|pp=123–-127, 134}} Before the 1830s, spinning mills produced cotton, that was [[Putting-out system|put-out]] to [[hand-loom]] weavers who worked in their own homes or small [[loom shop]]s, like the one Greg owned at [[Eyam]].{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=38}} Hand-loom weaving continued in parallel to [[power loom]] weaving throughout the 19th century. Around 1830, the power loom became sufficiently viable for independent [[weaving shed]]s to be set up, and for larger owners to add weaving sheds to their spinning mills. A weaving shed needed the correct light and humidity, and a floor that was stable enough to withstand the vibration caused by the picking of many looms. Quarry Bank Mill is of national significance in that it used two-storey side-lit buildings rather the a [[weaving shed|single storey shed]]s with a saw-tooth roof.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=123}} The first two-storey shed at Quarry Bank was {{convert|33|m|ft|order=flip}} by {{convert|6.5|m|ft|order=flip}}. The 1838 building was {{convert|30|m|ft|order=flip}} by {{convert|10|m|ft|order=flip}} to which a storey was added in 1842 for warping and beaming. In the Gregs pragmatic way, looms were purchased gradually.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=124}}

===Water power===
[[File:Quarry Bank Mill waterwheel 1.webm|thumb|right|The waterwheel rotating]]
The first wheel was a wooden [[overshot wheel]] taking water by means of a long leat from upstream on the River Bollin. The second wheel built by Peter Ewart in 1801 was wooden. To increase power, he dammed the Bollin and took water into the mill directly, the [[tailrace]] leaving the river below the dam. The third wheel of 1807 was a replacement for one of the wooden wheels.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=61}} It is believed it was a [[waterwheel#Suspension wheels and rim-gears|suspension wheel]], {{convert|8|m|ft|order=flip}} in diameter made from iron to the design of [[Thomas Hewes]].{{sfn|Bourne|2007|p=12}}

The fourth wheel, the ''Great Wheel'' was also designed by Hewes. The challenge was to increase the head of water acting on the wheel while using the same volume of water. It was achieved by sinking the wheel pit to below the level of the river and taking the tail race through a tunnel a kilometre downstream to rejoin the Bollin at Giant's Castle. This gave a head of {{convert|32|ft|m}} acting on the {{convert|32|ft|m}} diameter suspension wheel- which is {{convert|21|ft|m}} wide. The ''Great Wheel'' operated from 1818 to 1871 when the mill pool had silted up, and then to 1904.{{sfn|Bourne|2007|pp=13,14}}

In 1905, two [[water turbines]] built by Gilbert Gilkes and Company were installed to replace the ''Great Wheel''. They used the same head and tail race and operated until 1959.{{sfn|Bourne|2007|p=13}} When the mill was restored in 1983, a {{convert|25|ft|m}} diameter waterwheel of similar design to that of Hewes by his pupil Sir [[William Fairbairn]], was moved from [[Glasshouses, North Yorkshire|Glasshouses Mill]] near [[Pateley Bridge]] and installed to provide power to work the machinery.<ref name="historicengland.org.uk"/>

===Steam power===
Water flow from the Bollin was unreliable, so an auxiliary steam engine was procured in 1810.{{sfn|Calladine|Fricker|1993|p=61}} It was a 10&nbsp;hp [[beam engine]] from [[Boulton and Watt]]. In 1836 with the arrival of [[power loom]]s a second 20&nbsp;hp Boulton and Watt beam engine was acquired. The first [[stationary steam engine|horizontal condensing engine]] was acquired in 1871. A new engine house was built. In 1906 the 1871 engine was replaced by a second-hand 60&nbsp;hp engine.{{sfn|Bourne|2007|pp=14–15}} The engines no longer exist, and the museum has purchased a similar steam engine to display.

==Profiting from the slave trade==
The Gregs were involved in the [[triangular trade]]. Samuel Greg's brother-in-law, Thomas Hodgson, owned a slave ship; his father, Thomas Greg, and his brother, John Greg, part-owned [[sugar plantation]]s on the Caribbean island of [[Dominica]]. The best documented is Hillsborough Estate, Dominica, which Samuel Greg and his brother Thomas inherited in 1795.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Greg family of Styal {{!}} Revealing Histories|url=http://revealinghistories.org.uk/why-was-cotton-so-important-in-north-west-england/people/the-greg-family-of-styal.html|website=revealinghistories.org.uk|publisher=8 Greater Manchester Museums|access-date=8 October 2017|language=en}}</ref> In 1818, it had 71 male and 68 female slaves.<!-- In January 1814, 20 slaves absconded and were recaptured and punished with 100 lashes for the males and 50 for the females. The slaves believed that one of their number had died in the plantation hospital, and they believed he had been poisoned.-->{{sfn|Bourne|2007|p=19}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0115%2FRCMS%20266 |title=› Domenica Estates Janus Repositories, University of Cambridge |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407062528/http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0115%2FRCMS%20266 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A research document states that "although [Samuel] Greg did not rely on Caribbean estate earnings to finance entry into cotton spinning, his interest in plantations formed part of a wider family engagement in commerce that included significant slave-related business".<ref>[https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146644249 Samuel Greg Profile & Legacies Summary]</ref> "Samuel Greg ... his father Thomas and uncle John had interests in four estates in Dominica and St Vincent, ... while Samuel and his brother Thomas inherited the Hillsborough plantation in Dominica and other estates", according to a news item.<ref>[https://www.knutsfordguardian.co.uk/news/18740298.national-trust-report-shows-quarry-bank-mills-links-slavery/ National Trust report shows Quarry Bank Mill's links to slavery 23 September 2020]</ref> The research document also confirms that Samuel Greg's brothers were owners of estates, in the West Indies, where labour was provided by slaves.<ref>[https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/10314 Thomas Greg Profile & Legacies Summary]</ref>

In 2020, the National Trust was working on a plan to include coverage about the owners of its properties, including the Quarry Bank Mill, who had links to colonialism and slavery. Visitors will find information about the "histories of slavery and colonialism" at the site.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Trust hastens projects exposing links of country houses to slavery |date=2020-06-22 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517114612/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/22/national-trust-hastens-projects-exposing-links-of-country-houses-to-slavery |archive-date=2023-05-17 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/22/national-trust-hastens-projects-exposing-links-of-country-houses-to-slavery}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/addressing-the-histories-of-slavery-and-colonialism-at-the-national-trust Addressing the histories of slavery and colonialism at the National Trust]</ref><ref>[http://revealinghistories.org.uk/how-did-money-from-slavery-help-develop-greater-manchester/places/quarry-bank-mill-styal-cheshire.html Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, Cheshire]</ref>

==In popular culture==
The relationship between mill owners and employees at Quarry Bank, starting in 1833, was explored in the 2013–2014 television series [[The Mill (TV series)|''The Mill'']].<ref name="Mill1">{{Cite episode | title = Clock-in | series = The Mill | series-link = The Mill (television) | url = http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-mill | access-date = 3 August 2013 | station = [[Channel 4]] | date = 28 July 2013 | series-no =  1| number = 1 }}</ref> The producers used stories from the archives of the mill; the ten episodes were based on the stories but included some fictional characters.<ref name="TM-Press">{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/info/press/programme-information/the-mill-w-t|title=The Mill – Press|date=25 July 2013|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|accessdate=3 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Mill: Character biographies|url=http://www.channel4.com/info/press/press-packs/the-mill-character-biographies|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|accessdate=6 August 2013}}</ref>

Some of the exteriors were filmed at the Quarry Bank Mill while others in the city centre of Chester and at Chester Crown Court.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/channel-4-tv-drama-mill-5586309 |title=Channel 4 TV drama was filmed in Chester and Cheshire |website=Cheshire Live |date=5 August 2013 |access-date=25 October 2021 |quote=}}</ref> 
Interiors of the work in the mill were filmed in Manchester because "the real factory floor couldn’t be easily converted from its contemporary function as a museum".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thelocationguide.com/2013/11/ng-television-period-tv-drama-the-mill-to-film-second-series-on-location-in-cheshire/ |title=Period TV drama The Mill to film second series on location in Cheshire |website=TheLocation Guide |access-date=25 October 2021 |quote= |archive-date=26 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026050449/https://www.thelocationguide.com/2013/11/ng-television-period-tv-drama-the-mill-to-film-second-series-on-location-in-cheshire/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2020, some scenes for the ITV series [[Belgravia (TV series)|''Belgravia'']] were filmed at the mill.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/belgravia-itv-location-guide/ |title=Where is ITV's Belgravia filmed? |date=12 April 2020 |work=Radio Times |access-date=28 February 2021 |quote=Here's where you'll find the lavish London homes and ancestral country houses in Julian Fellowes' new period drama Belgravia}}</ref>

==Galleries==
<gallery mode=packed caption="The village of Styal" heights="150px" >
File:Mill Works Houses in Styal - geograph.org.uk - 734134.jpg |Workers cottages
File:Cottages at Styal Village - geograph.org.uk - 1287220.jpg |Workers cottages
Norcliffe Chapel, Styal Village - geograph.org.uk - 394152.jpg |[[Norcliffe Chapel]]
</gallery>

<gallery mode=packed caption="Working machines" heights="150px" >

Image:Mule spinning machine at Quarry Bank Mill.jpg|A working Mule spinning machine at Quarry Bank Mill.

File:Inside the water-wheel of Quarry Bank Mill.jpg|A view inside the largest water wheel in the United Kingdom. It is still working today, powering the [[loom]]s.
The_Water_Wheel_at_Styal_Mill_(geograph_3001546).jpg |The new wheel
File:A_working_Mule_spinning_machine_at_Quarry_Bank_Mill.theora.ogv |A video of the working Mule spinning machine at Quarry Bank Mill

</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Cheshire}}
* [[Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire East]]
* [[Listed buildings in Wilmslow]]
* [[Factory Acts]]
* [[List of textile mills in Cheshire]]
* [[List of watermills in the United Kingdom]]

==References==
;Notes
{{Reflist|30em}}
;Bibliography
* {{cite book|last1=Calladine|first1=Anthony|last2=Fricker|first2=Jean|title=East Cheshire Textile Mills|publisher=Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England|location=London|year=1993|isbn=1-873592-13-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Bourne|first=Matt|title=Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate|publisher=The National Trust|year=2007|isbn=978-1-84359-258-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Owens|first=Jessica|title=Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate|publisher=National Trust|year=2010|edition=14 May 2010|series=GCSE Resources|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1349107091038&ssbinary=true |ref=none}}
* {{cite book
|last=Rose
|first=Mary
|title=The Gregs of Quarry Bank Mill: the rise and decline of a family firm, 1750–-1914
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|year=1986
|isbn=978-0521323826
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-08AAAAIAAJ&q=Escowbeck&pg=PA34
|ref=none
}}
* {{cite book|last=Westall|first=Roy|title=Wilmslow and Alderley Edge; Quarry Bank Mill & Manchester Airport|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester, West Sussex|year=1994|isbn=0-85033-867-0}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Quarry Bank Mill}}
* [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate information at the National Trust]
* [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata%3AWikiProject_sum_of_all_paintings%2FCollection%2FQuarry_Bank_Mill Wikidata List of paintings at Quarry Bank Mill]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160306190937/http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/place/quarry-bank-mill-and-styal-estate National Trust: Collection of primary source documents relating to the Gregs and Quarry Bank Mill]
<!-- * [http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-mill The Mill Channel 4]dead link -->
<!-- *[http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/2006_manc_t.html Richard Arkwright's Mill Channel 4] dead link -->
* [http://www.sonicwonders.org/?p=461 The sound of Quarry Bank Mill on Sound Tourism site]
* [https://archive.today/20130505090454/http://www.uktripper.co.uk/leisure/visit.cfm/l/quarry-bank-mill-and-styal-estate/49352/ Information and Photos]

{{Textile museums}}
{{Lancashire Cotton}} <!-- In spite of title --it provides all the links for the North West-->
{{European Route of Industrial Heritage}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Museums in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Textile mills in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Watermills in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Industry museums in England]]
[[Category:Textile museums in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cotton mills in England]]
[[Category:Former textile mills in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of Cheshire]]
[[Category:History of the textile industry]]
[[Category:National Trust properties in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed industrial buildings]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:European Route of Industrial Heritage Anchor Points| ]]
[[Category:Styal]]