Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate with Styal Village is the most complete and least altered factory colony of the Industrial Revolution. It is of outstanding national and international importance.
Founded in 1784 by a young textile merchant Samuel Greg, Quarry Bank Mill was one of the first generation of waterpowered cotton spinning mills. Styal was chosen for a number of reasons, not least because of the suitable head of water provided by the River Bollin and its proximity to the Bridgewater Canal and thus Liverpool.
As the Greg enterprise flourished the Mill itself was extended and a working community established at Styal. This included two chapels, a school and a shop as well as cottages and terraced housing. By the 1830s Samuel Greg & Co was one of the largest cotton manufacturing businesses in Britain with four other mills as well as Quarry Bank.
The site has four unique features:
1. Its Original Buildings
The Mill is one of the finest and most impressive brick buildings of its day to survive. Together with Styal Village it represents an unrivalled example of an early factory colony.
2. An Extensive Archive
A varied collection of objects, pictures and ocuments provide evidence about the life and work of the Greg family and their workforce.
3. A Living Museum
Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate is still a working Cotton Mill producing over 9,000m (10,000 yards) of cloth each year. Visitors can see, hear and smell 19th Century textile machines working and meet skilled Millworkers with years of experience of working in the cotton industry.
4. The Great Iron Waterwheel and two Steam Engines
Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate now offers an unique opportunity to see the two major sources of power available during the Industrial Revolution, working in an original context. The most powerful working waterwheel in Britain illustrates how power can be harnessed to drive machinery.