The Valley of the Lost Mills
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- In this video we take a walk along the Cheesden Valley between the Lancashire cotton mill towns of Bury and Rochdale. We see the remains of the lost mills in the area. These mills are from the early part of the Industrial revolution and were woollen, cotton and bleaching and dyeing works. All that remains now is ruins but they are now quite beautiful. They could not compete with the cotton super mills that were emerging in the nearby city of Manchester. This history walk will look at old maps to try and make sense of this industrial decay. We start at Cheesden Lumb lower mill and walk down the Cheesden Valley along the brook. This is a country walk and an Urbex. Black and white picture inside finishing works taken from a book, The Textile Mills of lancashire: The Legacy. Historic England. Used for educational purposes only.
- Zábava
Hi Martin many years ago maybe the late 70 early 80;s i worked for a machinery engineering removal and Installation company that when i started used to be opposite the gas works in Salford but after a few years we moved to new premises of Oldam rd and we emptied many of the mills around Oldam ,Rochdale and some further afield; much of the stuff we removed was lines of weaving Knitting machines and were winched and craned down through the large doors on each floor, i remember the first time i saw them i was amassed how big the mill rooms were and all wooden flooring, anyway we moved a lot down to Birmingham where they were store and then packed into containers and shipped to places like Africa.
Some of the old mills had i think if i remember write Big brass domes on top of something that looked like towers its a long time to remember really clear i was in my 20's then now i am in my 70's.
I also worked removing an installing the new printing machines for the paper companies from the lead type that used to have to be assembled by the printer but the new Roland printers i think used to print from computers but like i say age plays some tricks, i worked at one mill that was near a canal and the workers had little cottages on site ah well memories.some were even driven by leather belts and wheel driven by really long round bars many went from floor to floor and when a different speed was needed the gears were changed by using a long wooden poles to stretch the belt from gear to gear it was a fantastic sight to see.
good stuff and interesting too.
Fred, was it Vanguard Engineering you worked for by any chance?
How brilliant, thank you for all the extra information.
except for the difference in machinery you are describing the old part of the sawmill I used to work in. Belt wheels still left on the ceiling as you describe. we still had a 'steam' front end as
we would occasionally get some Hemlock logs that were 9 feet in diameter for special orders requiring that tight grain of old growth -ladder stock and window sashes for Germany, 'flitches' for the Japanese market that required perfect strips of veneer to cover lower grade 'visible' /exposed wood surface in a traditional Japanese house.
We also sold a fair bit to high end Italian furniture manufacturers.
The steam equipment was left in as the air powered log transfer apparatus used in the 'new' mill was utterly incapable of moving a log that size.
Hello Mr. Dimble. Very interesting life you have lived. Mr. Zero put out very good content and you just helped make it come to life. Thank you. From Bakersfield California USA.
Brilliant, use to be my playground in the school summer holidays, we would camp out for weeks only going home for supplies, happy days.
Nicking milk in the mornings off doorsteps? "Milking" we called it. Orange juice or flavoured milk was a real bonus 😂
Same here Steve, when Summers were hot!
Have not been in years i think i a trip up is on the cards
Lucky you! That must of been awesome. The memories!
Me too. Many happy memories.
In the floods we've had recently Martin, in Hebden Bridge and Sowley etc - the Calder showed it's power with floating shipping containers down the streets. Just down the road in Wycoller it was half flooded. but the houses were mainly safe. I would think a lot of masonry was "borrowed" from the site over the years. If you look at some of the stone in dry stone walls locally you find bits of stone from churches, mills and alsorts.
Aye, and can be seen looking closely in sunlit rivers. (Derwent and Amber in Derbyshire for instance, in fact any old river, steam or brook).
Loved the slow-mo and pause of the butterfly.
As for the rest of the vlog, absolutely interesting and lovely scenery.
Thank you for your hard work Martin.
Liked before even watched as know 💯 it will be top notch👍👍
Haha same for me
@@marcouellette3557 same
Yep, me too!
And me!
Thumbs up 👍
Nice one Martin
Green-veined White butterfly if your interested.
. . . and Martins back!!!! That was brilliant with a capital F!!!! So much forgotr3en history just gently being taken back by nature. You're getting very professional, there was a "David Attenborough" moment there in the stillness with the birds singing!!! Good to see you out again for our weekly history lesson. 👍❤
Thanks Bob, yeah thoroughly enjoyed it
@@MartinZero It showed😊 Feeling the need to stay all day exploring, so much to see and get engrossed in. You've got too much history up there!!!!!
16:00 That part looks like it is a crown wheel; the shaft was turning as driven by a waterwheel or a belt system attached to the vertical rod (somewhere up or down the shaft). Those wheels were used to transfer the force of the vertical turning shaft into a horizontal turning axis. That axis then could power, via several belts, the machinery at that floor. It was a part of the most important equipment of a mill. The owners of the mill must haven been aware of that, they have used excellent quality if it still remains after all those years.
17:45 It looks like the place where a waterwheel has been in place. The round cut out, the hole in the wall to fit a large axis and the stone/concrete slab where the water could run via the waterwheel into the pit below. As you see at 17:56 the stone plate has a smooth curved edge at the site of the pit; looks like it is eroded by the water going over all the years.
Thanks, its overwhelming when you are there to try an piece it all together
Brilliant video martin ,I have been going to the valley for 45 years and glad to see some of the mills are still there , there is a book you can buy called the forgotten valley by AV Ashworth he still goes to millcroft tearooms further down the vally it will be open soon I hope after the madness, also the book can be bought at bury library for a small fee, there were 3 tea rooms originally feeding the workers in the mills millcroft the last .
A lot of the original features still there with good parking , they had a marnaguary of animal's some stuffed and some alive best was a minor bird which swore like a trooper when you walked in.
Keep up the good work and do the rest of the valley
I have the book it was written in 1981 a very interesting book very difficult to get hold now of as i think it's now out of print.
Those Minor birds were hilarious, They were the the winners in ugly bird in a cage contest. Huge Black feathered things. They were better than any parrot or budgie you could get for talking. My Uncle John had one on a farm in Breightmet in Bolton. He taught it to say "Cat's a Bugger". My Grandma was a staunch Church gower....Just as she said "More Tea Vicar" in the parlour, this bird went off....She was a very short lady, but my Uncle John got a right leathering with the broomstick after she chased him all over the Farmhouse. She wern't 'appy.... xxx
The type of bird you refer to was called a “mynah” bird.
Nothing to do with small people or pitmen!
That small device you found was used to derive power from water frame to spinning frames.
I was thinking a twisting rod to squeese the water and dye out the cotton.
What a beautiful day to be out there, love all that old history. The people that have come and gone through those mills. My Mother worked in a Lancashire cotton mill and I remember her saying about workers wearing clogs and apparently they were very comfortable.
When I was a Kid in Preston in the 40s the Knockerupper would walk up & down the streets with a pole , banging on the windows of the mill workers , the later a rattle of the clogs when they went to work in the mills
In my last house we built beautiful raised bed gardens and a BBQ area. We had a 20 min torrential rain that caused a flash flood.o could not believe the power that water had
COMPLETELY washed everything a way a d made a 3' deep canal where there used to be a road.flooded my house too
I always love your videos a d your appreciation and enthusiasm . Love from Peru! 2 of my turkey eggs have hatched
They are so cute
A fantastic video, Martin. I've been coming to Cheesden Valley all my life one of my favourite places. Cheesden Lumb Mill is also a listed building and the whole front blew down in a storm in 1990. It was eventually rebuilt a year later. Deeply Vale Paper Mill is at 12 min where the arch was it was a wheel pit. Not sure what that rusty wheel thing was for though. At 27 min 25 sec at Washwheel Mill was the 'stone becks' there was also a boiler and an 'economiser' but they were pinched for scrap metal in the 1950s. There was two further mills down the valley Birtle Dene and Kershaw Bridge also gems. I run a Facebook group called Cheesden Valley with info and photos. Great video! 👍
Do you mean 1890?
No, the mill did indeed fall down in 1990 during a heavy storm. I have a book called The Forgotten Valley written by TA Ashworth in 1981 about the history of the Cheesden Valley.
@@westedk How fantastic, there is a book about it. Need to get Martin a copy of that.
@@LittleCarol Yes I have the book. It's called The Forgotten Valley. Written in 1981 by Ashworth and Sandiford. Not easy to find as i think it's now out of print. Bury Library sold it at the time as my copy was bought in the 1980s.
@@westedk : Invaluable these small volume local history book publications
Grew up in nangreaves on a farm just next door to deeply vale spent many happy hours walking there , I also remember the 1980 festival ! Just ? I was a child but remember lines of old vans and hippy buses parked up near the masons pub ! But a beautiful place ,like many parts of Lancashire .
Yeah incredible place Mat
Lived top end of Chesham, so it wasn't too far away for me either.
Daze of the pre Peace Convoys and early rave beginnings..... Out in the middle of nowhere !
My dad use to reliever milk at Nangeeaves.I remember him dragging it across the moors on a sledge in the winter of sixty three He use to reliever to the Lord Ragland pub I remember it he old mill and lodged the sixties still working at the beginning of the 60’s
My brother worked at the mill at mount pleasant ,there all houses there now the old mill is long gone even the Lord raglan has closed many pints of Guinness was supped in there .
Great video!! I live in Florida now... nothing quite like that here.. but grew up in New Jersey and there was an old mill from the late 1700's up in the Watchung Mtns. near my house... We used to go up there as kids, I remember how peaceful and quiet it was in the deep woods next to those old ruins The brook that ran thru there was the only sound, as if telling you the story of the place.. Thanks for the memories.
Hey martin great education for me
As these mills are a part of my childhood , i used to play here and pretend they were castles
On nice days my mum would take me to swim in lower lumbs waterfall and rockpool im so happy you have come here , my favourite you have done , thanks for the hard work and research
Thanks Lewis, there is a waterfall round there That I went to as a kid and cant find ?
Old Industry can be so beautiful once nature arrives back the two work well together!!😎🐓🐓
Love the way its being reclaimed
nice to see you get out and film again I just upload a video of the river new flooding we have been getting to much rain
Fascinating, so quiet and peaceful today yet back when those mills were working it would have been a noisy polluted place. Such a difference.
Your reaction is pretty much the same as mine when I first visited. It's an astonishing area and so, so quiet. I don't think many people around Manchester know it's there.
Amazing how the Mills spread out from the cities, to put to use almost any even brooked sized amount of water. Then to think how relatively quickly same folded.
Brilliant video to watch on a Sunday night.
Thank you Mr Zero for sharing this with us - much appreciated - please stay safe and well sending regards 👏❤️😁xx
Thank you all the very best to you
Amazing to see the remnants of the first industrial revolution and all the puzzles that they hold, what a logistic nightmare it must have been to operate those mills with only horse drawn vehicles. Well done Martin for taking us on such a tranquil walk .
Imagine trudging t'mill and back every day !!
Again you cease to amaze. This somewhat reminds me of the River Medlock series. Maybe it good there are few roads in the area, the lack of spray paint and litter. I have been re-watching some of your earlier work, "The hidden history of Manchester's Irk Valley" episode two. In that episode I found the Hanging Bridge fascinating, maybe do a video tying the Manchester Cathedral, the Hanging Bridge and the lost brook "maybe the Dene" altogether. As always you "pull" the viewer in to the story. It is very rare to find somebody so proud of their home town / city. If you ever make it to Torrance CA I'll take you out for lunch. Keep up the great work and take care...….
Never. (scuse me).
Excellent Martin. I missed it last night but I'll sit in my garden, brew in thand and soak this all up.
Stay safe take care 👍🏻
Because of the natural stone used in the original construction, the dereliction is beautiful almost beyond description. Thank you Martin for bringing this to us today.
Thanks Eddie, I think you nailed it there
Beautiful video Martin, thanks for sharing and thank you to your watchers for giving further information.
You are looking well 🌞🐝
You can't beat a good chimney...!! 😊
Another brilliant history lesson brought to you by MrZero, top quality pal. How can someone dislike this!! Haters ay!! Lol
it was from the bloke that fell in the gearing rip
You tread the path of our history for those who can't,Thanks Martin.
Brilliant Martin keep them coming thanks
Martin, great to see you again and what a wonderful video. I went straight to my go to on-line bookshop and got a copy of The Forgotten Valley.
Thanks Joy, I may need to get that book
Amazing to see so much history of the 19th century still is visible in the countryside!
Thank you Martin for another interesting video. These places are so peaceful and beautiful today but can you imagine how different they must of been.
Beautiful stonework!
Wish I'd heard OMD, back in the day.
I was there in the early days but not when they were Pegasus 😃
Brilliant stuff! Thanks for posting. And you had excellent weather for a stroll.
Yeah it was lovely Murray
Once again another great video.... watching from MA. 🙋🏽♀️
Such a beautiful place and now it's had the Martin Zero treatment. Incredible that there are still mills in various states of decay
waiting to be discovered by your CZcams family. Looked an amazing day for a walk. 💖
fabulous Martin great to have you out and about again!
Love how nature, especially ferns soften the old brickwork.
Ahhh! its that time of the week again! Will enjoy this later. Thanks Martin.
I always look forward to a new video! Perfect relaxation time exploring the local area by proxy on my sofa!
Awesome
Hi Jenny.
I think that was your best documentary ever. Sat here 37 floors up looking over abu dhabi. 1.5% of the whole countries virus where i work. So refreshing to see you have a new film. Thank you very much. Really appreciated Martin. Looking forward to the next one fella.
Hi Martin, great video, love your sense of adventure, your enthusiasm and your narration. Take care, stay safe and long may you continue to make videos.
Well done, another really good video. That stirred up some memories, i worked at a dyers and printers when I left school in 1960 and the young lad in the photo looked to be doing one of the jobs I did, that is guiding the bleached cloth into large vats called kiers where it was stored before going on to other processes. Though it has to be said the conditions I worked in were quite a bit better and I think my footwear might have been more comfy.
Amazing video. Looks like you've got your Mojo back. Speechless half the time 😍. Fantastic 👌👌
“Cobbles on the road mark the entrance to industry” - Martin zero
I thought that was quite poetic Martin
Atmosphere of history makes this one of your best. Thanks much.
Thank you
This journey along the trail of old mills was fantastic. You chose a gorgeous day for the hike and the scenery was breath taking. The history was wonderful and your presentation spot on. I live in Oregon , on the west coast of the U.S.A , and we just don't have the kinds of history you show us , and it's wonderful. We have the habit of tearing down our history and replacing it with modern things called progress. We have the tendency to not be interested in where we came from , how we got here to today. I love history and regret that we don't care more. Thank you for sharing your history with us.
Perfect hangover cure every Sunday.
Simply marvelous! Thank you... what an amazing story!
Well done Martin. Great to see you out and about again. Stunning video.
Cheers Martin, always a pleasure to watch. Very interesting.
Thanks Chris
Another great video Martin. I think the shots of those old maps helps a lot to the understanding of these places. Thanks.
You never disappoint Martin, we loved every minute of it.....you bring the buildings alive & makes us think of the people who built & worked there all those years ago. Pretty impressive ruins & lovely stonework.....too remote for anyone to nick👍😁
Incredible! Just what I needed on a Sunday night. It's a shame that architectural plans don't exist for some of these lost mills, I'd love to see how they were designed and laid out.
Yeah same here I would love to see how they were
WOW! Very Interesting!
Brilliant history Martin. I took some Americans friends there and they said in the states they would build a visitors centre and cafes, where people could appreciate there history. They were amazed the town had no pride in its own history.
What a find you can sniff them out Martin A truly great vlog with nature industry I could feel the serenity of the place. The stone work and detail they put in to it was amazing and the size of some of those beams. Really enjoyed many thanks Martin.
That's amazing Martin. So beautiful. You must have been in seventh heaven discovering all this - and especially the icing on the cake - the chimney!
Fantastic video, I must have been along the Ashworth Valley, (very near there) 100 times and never new this place existed . .Now I have somthing to do on furlough. Many thanks for uploading
Thanks Martin what lovely slice of peace you brought us! Marvellous how nature finds its way back - imagine the noise and stink and polluted water downstream when the mills were in operation - print dye and bleach, lovely! But now how it has reverted into such lovely green places in a century or so.
Yeah thats true I bet they messed up that brook
That was an awesome video Martin! Really enjoyed it!
Those 'dark satanic mills' mentioned in literature have left a wealth of historic sites and stories in your neck of the woods Martin. I'm very grateful that you show them to us, they're a valuable part of our national story and it's good to know that they are still here to inspire and inform. Cheers mate :)
Thank you
And in Derbyshire....
That was brilliant, mate. Loved the stone and iron pulley - still moving...!
Thanks John, me as well
Martin have you been to greenbooth Reservoir on Edenfield Road there is part of a mill still there and there is a village submerged under the res stunning views up there aswell
I cannot wait to go on a journey like this with you, and hey might as well bring Connor,because these videos are not just mere vlogs. The history of Manchester and its region is the often untold story of mill workers ,navies,and just damn hard working people who came before us. Thank you so much Martin!!
Great vlog mate, really interesting, thanks for exercising in such a beautiful place!
I thoroughly enjoyed this Martin. Thank you.
Fantasticly beautiful !
Thank you for taking us with you on this incredible journey!👍😎👍
Another great video. The scenery with the ruins make it look like something from a fairy tale. Love the history you bring to our attention. Thanks and stay well and safe.
Thank you for showing everyone the beauty of the once industrial north of England. |Love from a Rochdale girl now living in the south of England. xxx
Hiya love, I know Rochdale well,used to be on Rochdale buses in the Sixties. Born in Royton (OLDHAM ROYAL INFIRMARY) AND GREW UP IN Shaw.
Thanks very much Carol
@@ianwinterbottom5995 Hiya Ian. I was born in late 50's in Birchill Infirmary in Littleborough and grew up in Castleton. We used to go swimming in Cassy baths all the time. When I was a little girl. I have such fond memories of growing up in such a different age. With the cobblestone roads and the rag and bone man and his horse. Do you remember the Whit Walks on what we called Witsun in May? I am so proud of coming from Rochdale home of the Rochdale Pioneers. The Co-operative movement. The social changes they made in Toad Lane are world famous. I would love to help Martin research and make a video about that, because it was so important for the way food was distributed and was a revolution in Fairness and Social Change, which we still have today.
@@MartinZero Thank you Martin. If you ever want to make a video about the Co op movement in Rochdale and the social change it brought. I would be happy to help. Also if you would like to make a video about Brunel and his railway line. I can show you lots of interesting places to visit here in Swindon. You and team Zero would be very welcome here at my house. I love how you are so proud of our industrial past and we have plenty of railway and canal action going on here, but it is slowly being changed to make space for all the new stuff. I can't be doing with all the people who never bother to find out the history of where they live. What's up with 'em ? Hope you will be up for the challenge. xxx
That was amazing video clip you put together there off the old building and it amazing how you find them 👍👍
Videos like yours make me look at my area a bit more closely, it's the small things that are overlooked that interest me the most. Some TV exec should look at hiring you for some TV documentary, we need more TV like this, especially now the likes of Time Team are no longer filmed, it will make people more aware of what's being destroyed around them.
Hi Martin, yeah they were all water powered. I love the old mills I find them mesmerising. Loved this video of my stomping ground, really really interesting. Thanks
This is just one of many amazing videos you have posted. Thank you for bringing the old times to life . From Bakersfield California USA.
Thanks Katherine, regards to Bakersfield 👍
GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK...… now I'll watch the video
Hell yeah... Welcome back to another Video... ❤️🥰😍🤩
Use too do a lot of mountain biking training in the valley and often wondered what the derelict buildings were used for
as always, amazing content and back story. cheers Martin!
Thanks very much
That was amazing, what a beautiful and tranquil place it has become as it returns to nature, kind of sad yet fascinating too. You picked a beautiful day for it too. Cheers Martin. Could do with a Potter up there myself after being "grounded" for weeks! 😃
The lives long since gone. I feel a deep sense of those gone before me. It is profound feeling. If I was religious then you'd say you feel the spirits of people. It is eery in a way. The energy that was here, the people, the families etc. Dark satanic mills certainly, but without them we would not have our ridiculously comfortable today.
"eery " exactly.
I would feel a bit scared to go there by myself for the reasons you said.
Also, you never know what weirdo's are knocking about there.
Another gem, Martin. The next village down towards Rochdale, Red Lumb and the Mill there Red Lumb Mill was owned in the late 50s early 60 by my boss who owned Lyndhurst (which is now the nursing home) on Manchester Old Rd Middleton. I worked in the Manchester office and my father was the warehouse manager. After the war in the late 40's a 40,000 sq ft building was built adjoining the old mill building which was a single story Weaving shed. The company was Overtown (Red Lumb) Mill Ltd, by the early 60's most of the machinery had been cleared and we used it as our warehouse and base for deliveries all over the country. There were still some old weaving looms operating in the old part of mill later a lot scrapped and some of these were shipped to Hong Kong. Eventually the old two storey building was converted into flats. People from the village worked for us in the warehouse. The late 60s the company joined a group and moved to Heaton Mills print works near Heaton Park the site of which is now Salisbury's.
My Grandma ended up at Lyndhurst
Brilliant video martin. Totally enjoyed watching. Thank you.
Cheers Dillon
Brilliant video as usual, the content is superbly presented but the soundtrack is so complementary it's unreal. Watched it twice and it gets better.
Thanks David, impressed you watched twice
Thanks martin. Beautiful photography. The mill looked amazing in the nature setting. Buxton also held good music festivals back in the 70s. Saw some great bands. ❤💛💚
Remember going to Buxton from Manchester too see the new York dolls in the 70s and the concert was cancelled think they were too stoned to perform
I was there too, I remember Mott the Hoople and the Faces playing. I dont think Captain Beefheart turned up also. It was so cold that weekend. :)
That was a bloody belter Martin.
Great day, great location, brilliant finds, and all put together with skilful editing, commentary, and soundtrack.
Thanks!
Thanks very much Mike
Just watched the video and found it very interesting. I sometimes drive through Ashworth Valley and never realised the history on our doorstep. Thanks Martin
ahh for the love of old mills..be still my heart.....
The sound of the harp in the music really suited the video, 👍👍👍👍
Great video and nice to see nature reclaiming it’s land. Shame there wasn’t more maps from when the factory’s where there
Wonderful, many thanks Martin. And what glorious weather as well. I found that chimmney fascinating with a tree taking root on that ledge near the top! Nature will always find a way.
Excuse the expletive, but jesus christ Martin, that place is magical! Three watches later, and it's still a stunning visual feast. Just wow! THANKS, really, thanks!
Thanks John, 3 times 👍Am impressed
@@MartinZero yes sir, that's what she said! Sorry, I just couldn't resist.
Beautiful episode. Absolutely love finding solitude, peace, and birdsong close to home.
Although I live relatively close to a national park - 522,000+ acres / 211,000+ hectares / 815 sq mi of mountains, forest, and streams (~850-900 miles of hiking trails) - a few years ago I was delighted to discover a few of the city parks are also heavily forested and quiet. Sometimes it's just amazing what is nearby and we don't know about.
Yeah this was a real gem
Awesome Martin, Thanks for the Videos
Love the video. These mills remind me of one near me in West Yorkshire, dating from the 1800s. It’s located in deep woodland and stands 2 stories tall, but construction was never finished, as the farmers that owned the land around the mill would not allow the construction of a road to it, causing the mill owner to sadly commit suicide, leaving the mill in a half built state, in which it remains today. It’s quite amazing to see, the stones that would have been used to finish the mill are still left abandoned, almost as if the whole place has been frozen in time.
Wow thats a great but sad story
Another fascinating slice of Sunday night viewing, I’m away to look up the Deeply Vale music festival now !.
OMD yes great group, interesting video. The moving of industry from countryside to town is not uncommon, it happened in the town of Mold north Wales ( moved down to deeside)
Hey Martin, so pleased you showed us this one, I knew Deeply Vale specifically because I worked stage crew on the 77 festival and spent what time I had away from the stage exploring the ruins and tunnels around there... good old memorys mate :)
Hi Richie wow I would have loved to have seen one of those concerts
Naden brook looks very intersting. Waterfalls. Ruins of an arche bridge and more mills.👍🏻
Hooray! Martin is back and better than ever!
It must feel great being able to get out again. 👍900
Thanks and yes it was fab, although the weather helped