Trencherfield Mill Wigan

The building erected in 1907 by William Woods & Son Ltd was the third Trencherfield Mill on the site. The new mill was built between the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the earlier mills and, like its predecessors of c1820 and 1851, it was named after the original Trencher Meadow.  Potts, Son and Hennings designed a five storey fireproof building that was to employ some 1,000 operatives responsible for 24,000 mule spindles and 60,000 ring spinning spindles. The projected cost of the building and land was estimated at ,12,000. The official opening took place on 3 October 1908 and included the traditional christening of the engine, the two sides of which were named Helen and Rina after William Wood's daughters. Two generators, driven by the steam engine to provide electric lighting to the mill were given the names Margaret and Jean. Steam for the engine and mill heating system came from six coal-fired  'Lancashire' boilers situated south of the engine house. The boilers were used in rotation, allowing any necessary maintenance and de-scaling work to be carried out. After the engine ceased to power the mill, steam for heating was provided by an oil-fired boiler located in the engine house.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal still remained an important transport link and the architects made full use of the opportunities offered by the canal-side site. A short canal arm was built to the south of the mill giving boats direct access for delivery of the bales of raw cotton which were hoisted up to the unloading bay on the third floor and for the discharge of coal to the boiler house.  The steam engine that powered the mill was a typical early twentieth century design. Ordered from J & E Woods of Bolton in August 1906, it was a horizontal four cylinder, triple expansion tandem type engine giving a power output of 2100 horse power. The flywheel, 26 feet six inches in diameter had 54 grooves, each able to take a 1: inch diameter rope drive. Also contained within the engine house was a steam-driven reciprocating pump built by Mather & Platt of Manchester to provide a pressurised water supply for fire-fighting purposes

The mill continued to spin yarn for a succession of owners for the next sixty years. In 1920, ownership of the mill passed to a new company, Trencherfield Mills Ltd. In the early 1930s, as the mule process was replaced by the more efficient ring spinning equipment, the mill became part of the gigantic Lancashire Cotton Corporation. The mill was again re-equipped in 1946 and ownership subsequently passed to Courtaulds. In 1983 the building was purchased by Wigan Metropolitan District Council. With help from the Northern Mill Engine Society the steam engine was restored and put back into operation in April 1984.