United Mill, Suffolk Street, Chadderton

240 feet by 129 feet, six storeys. Estimated cost of building £50,000, machinery costs £80,000. Contractor Robert Neill & Co of Manchester. Italianate detailing restricted to the tower, offices and principal windows of the engine house. Simple corner pilasters, a typical feature of Lancashire mill architecture. The remainder of the mill had a regular pattern of fenestration, the large windows necessary to light the broad interior. Fireproof construction - cast iron columns and transverse beams. Wrought iron joists and segmental brick arches filled with concrete to form the floors.

UNITED MILL, OLDHAM. - Oldham has long been celebrated for the extent of its cotton manufactories, and for a considerable number of years has taken one-third of the cotton produced throughout the world. Here also co-operative enterprise has been preeminent, but during the early part of 1874 an extraordinary movement in this direction took place. From thirty to forty new companies (all under the Limited Companies Act) were projected, and so great was the mania for buying and selling shares, that the share-list of a new company opening in the morning was in some instances closed within a couple of hours, having obtained applications for the requisite amount of capital, - generally from £60,000 to £80,000. The mill illustrated in our present number is one of these emanations from co-operative enterprise. The share capital is £80,000, in shares of £5 each, and although the office was only open during one day for share applications, the value of the stock applied for amounted to between £300,000 and £400.000. The title given to the company arose from the fact that the Board of directors was chosen from the united Boards of various limited cotton-spinning companies. The mill is 80 yards long by 43 yards wide, and is practically of six stories in height, one portion of the cellar being 14 ft. high. The construction of a cotton mill, as here shown, is that of a large rectangular building, divided into bays of suitable dimensions by vertical cast-iron columns, which support trans- verse beams, also of cast-iron. These latter carry wrought-iron joists placed about 3 ft. 4 in. apart. From the flanges of the wrought-iron joists are sprung segmental brick arches, filled up and levelled at the haunches with cement concrete, upon which is placed the boarded or flag flooring, as required. The building, when ready for the reception of the machinery, will have cost about £50,000; and, including the latter, the cost will reach to about £130,0002. The contractors for the erection of the mill are Messrs. Robert Neill & Sons, of Manchester; for lodge making and foundations, Messrs S. Dunkerley, Son, & Co., of Oldham; the engines, of 400 horse-power, are by Messrs. Pollitt & Wigzell, of Sowerby Bridge, and the piston speed will reach 600 ft. per minute ; the boilers are supplied by the Fairbairn Engineering Company (Limited), of Manchester; the economises are by Messrs. Green & Son, of Wakefield and Manchester; and the machinery is by Messrs. Platt, Brothers, & Co. (Limited), of Oldham. Mr. Thomas Mitchell, of Oldham and Manchester, is the architect. The supervision of the work is under Mr. John Handford, clerk of works. [Builder 4 December 1875 page 1083]

Reference    Builder 4 December 1875 page 1083 and illustration.