Toward the end of October, I visited Quarry Bank Mill and the village of Styal, which was built for the mill. The mill created cloth and threads made from cotton shipped from abroad, and the town was built up around it by the mill's owners for providing the workers with a community and a place to spend their money in the shops and pub, all of which benefit the owner of the mill. Styal and Quarry Bank Mill are located in Cheshire and owned by the National Trust. I visited the estate in the morning, which included a visit to the Apprentice's House, Worker's Cottage, gardens, Owner's House, and the mill itself. Later in the day, I returned for the Halloween event at Quarry Bank Mill.
The mill was constructed toward the end of the 1700s and is one of the best preserved artefacts from the Industrial Revolution in Europe. My first visit was to the Apprentice's House, which I secured a token for as numbers are limited. The tour was conducted by a man wearing period clothing. He told us about the young child apprentices who were basically forced into labour there, but it was a better prospect than other options. The young boys and girls were put to work for many hours each day and only had Sundays off. He told us some of their stories, although most are lost to time. The boys and girls were cared for, and the Apprentice's House was managed and maintained by a man and wife.
Upon entering the house, we arrived in the kitchen and were told about some of the boys and girls, including if they needed medical attention.
We were shown the living quarters of the man and wife who lived in and maintained the house, ensuring that the children were kept in order.
We were shown the boy's room, and there were two boys to a bed. The boys had their own personal possessions in a wooden box.
The room of the girls was next door.
Down the stairs was the teaching room and dining room set with wooden bowls.
After the very good tour, I went to the next tour of the workers' cottages, Oak Tree Cottage. To get there, I walked down a lane and past the war memorial cross.
Oak Cottages is a row of terraced houses.
One of the houses is open to visitors with timed entry, and the other cottages are lived in to modern standards. At the end of the cottages is Styal school. A famous boxer went to school here.
We were shown the house, which was lived in modestly by a man and wife. He was a mechanic at the mill. All of the cottages were built by the owner of the mill for workers. Many of the cottages had multiple occupants living in them, and although crowded, the conditions were far superior here than in Manchester. This family did rent out one of their bedrooms; there are two bedrooms in each cottage originally. The basement was also rented with a family living in it. There were not many comforts. The cottages dat from the early to mid 1800s.
Th wallpaper is original.
The basement was a damp one-room location that was lived in by a family.
After visiting the cottage, I walked to the garden.
Styal church made a good background on the way to the gardens.
There was a greenhouse, and I admired the autumn flowers.
I walked down the hill from the garden to get to the mill and the owner's home.
The Halloween decorations were on display for the night show.
I first went to the house that was owned and lived in by the owner.
Afterwards, I went to the mill and had a look around.
I enjoyed the visit to Quarry Bank Mill and Styal. There is a lot to see. Later in the evening, I went to one of the pubs in Styal before returning for the Halloween trail. Visitors can see my additional posts about Quarry Bank here:
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