Quarry Bank Mill has won a prestigious Heritage Award!

15th March 2011

Categories: Modern History News

 Last week the Cheshire landmark Quarry Bank Mill was honoured with a prestigious Heritage Award. The 220 year old cotton mill was praised for providing a ‘window into the North-West’s industrial past’.

The Heritage Awards, presented by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), recognise British feats of engineering that have changed the way we live. Quarry Bank Mill is the 61^st recipient of a Heritage Award, previous winners have included Trevithick’s Penydaren Locomotive - the world’s first railway locomotive – the Channel Tunnel and the Thames Barrier. Click here to see a full list of winners.

Quarry Bank Mill was founded by Samuel Greg in 1784, it is the oldest working cotton mill in the world and its waterwheel, built in 1851, remains the most powerful in Europe. By the 1830s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, the Mill was among the most profitable businesses in Britain, churning out 700,000 yards of cloth each year. Click here to see a video of the Mill in action!

Today the Mill continues to produce 6,500 yards of cotton per year using Victorian machinery. 200 schoolchildren now visit the National Trust property every day to learn how children their age lived, and worked, two centuries ago.

Isobel Pollock, Chair of the IMechE’s Heritage Committee, said:

“Not only is the Quarry Bank Mill a beautiful working example of the engineering technology that turned Britain into an industrial superpower, it also acts as a window into the North-West’s past. The work the Mill’s staff and volunteers are doing in bringing the industrial revolution alive for today’s schoolchildren cannot be praised highly enough.”

Barry Cook, Chief Engineer at Quarry Bank, said:

“This is a fantastic honour for both myself and the team, especially as almost all are volunteers. At Quarry Bank Mill we pride ourselves on making visits interesting and enjoyable for both adults and children, taking great pleasure in sharing the history of this fascinating Georgian mill which is still producing cotton today.”

Remember to take your Discovery Pass when you visit Quarry Bank Mill and collect your stamp!

Schoolchildren from Highfield School, Bolton, are shown a Quarry Bank steam engine by Isobel Pollock, IMechE Deputy President, and Barry Cook, Quarry Bank Chief Engineer.

Credit: Tony Ioannides