Power Learning Journey

The most important element of the Cotton Industry's development from the 18th century onwards was the mechanisation of processes formerly carried out by hand. With the development of the Water Frame, Mule and Power Loom, the power required to drive ever larger and more complex textile machines became greater than human muscle could easily apply. In the steps that follow, we outline the principal forms of power employed in the cotton industry during the various phases of its development.

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Power Learning Journey Step 6: Further Information There is no better way to learn about power sources than see them at work! Quarry Bank Mill's 1850 Fairbairn waterwheel was recovered from Pateley Bridge in 1980 and is the centrepiece of the museum, still geared to the weaving shed and is the most powerful in England. Quarry Bank Mill also has a restored 1830s beam engine and a second steam engine installed in 2000. The Museum of the Lancashire Textile Industry has two outstanding examples of water and steam power. Helmshore Textile Museum (Higher Mill) has a mighty waterwheel of composite construction measuring 18 feet 8 inches in diameter and 9 feet wide, built around 1820, which powers fulling stocks. Queen Street Mill has a 500 horsepower steam engine, "Peace", with a 14 foot flywheel, and a working boiler room in which the stoker gives demonstrations of feeding the Lancashire Boiler with coal. It is also possible at Queen Street to see how the power is transmitted through the line shafting to the 300 Lancashire Looms in the weaving shed. Other places of interest include Bancroft Mill Engine, Barnoldswick, which maintains an engine and boiler house which drive a preserved and working 600 bhp mill steam engine, and The Ellenroad Engine House, which houses the world's largest steam cotton mill engines, the 3000 bhp "Victoria" and "Alexandra", a coal-fired Lancashire boiler and the "Whitelees" beam engine. A good source of information on power sources of the cotton industry is: Richard L. Hills, "Power in the Industrial Revolution" (Manchester University Press, 1970). Other sources available on the site are highlighted at the bottom of the screen throughout the learning journey. NR

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