R. Greg and Co. Ltd., of Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, Cheshire and Reddish, Lancashire, cotton spinners
1784-1952
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Invoices and receipts, 1784-1788, 1842-1905 (2 volumes and 1 folder); cash books, 1787-1797, 1892-1920 (4 volumes); stock books and valuations, 1794, 1807-1841, 1895 and 1923 (5 volumes); private ledgers, relating to partnership accounts, 1796-1912 (8 volumes), including details for Quarry Bank Mill, 1796-1912, Caton Mill, near Lancaster, 1814-1841, Lancaster Mill, 1822-1841, Ancoats Mill, Manchester, 1825-1828, Hudcar Mill, Bury, 1827-1841, Albert Mill, Reddish, 1849-1873, the cotton dealing partnership in Manchester, circa 1825-1865, and accounts of various farms; day book, 1803-1806 (1 volume); mill ledgers, 1815-1891 (4 volumes); weekly accounts, 1834-1918 (3 volumes); half-yearly accounts, 1840-1849 (1 volume); monthly spinning and weaving accounts, 1844-1849 (1 volume); consignment book, 1847-1945 (1 volume); contingent expenses ledger, 1853-1856 (1 volume); Quarry Bank transfer account book, 1857-1890 (1 volume).
Wages books, 1789-1791, 1834-1929 (12 volumes); half-yearly account of twist and spun, 1803-1805, 1814-1822 (1 volume); Quarry Bank memoranda book, relating to subjects including the maintenance of mill machinery, output rates, prices, wages, child employees, insurance, cotton supply and estate affairs, 1804-1837, 1850-1851 (1 volume); indexed stoppage ledgers, including accounts of individual apprentices, 1815-1847 (2 volumes); cloth construction book, 1848-1896 (1 volume); scales of prices paid for weaving and spinning processes, weaving overlooking and picking cotton at Quarry Bank Mill, 1851-1937 (1 volume); memoranda book, including reports of Inspectors of the Association for the Prevention of Steam Boiler Explosions and details relating to other mill matters, 1855-1874 (1 volume); weaving production book, 1909-1914 (1 volume).
Apprenticeship agreements and indentures, 1784-1796, 1813-1866 (422 items); record of medical attendance, diagnosis and treatment of apprentices, 1804-1845 (2 volumes); register of workers under the age of 18, 1843-1849, with statutory time register, listing holidays, time lost and recovered etc., 1843-1845 (1 volume); age certificate books: workers between 13 and 16 years of age, 1844-1852 (2 volumes), and between 8 and 12 years of age, 1844-1854 (2 volumes); school attendance certificate books, 1847-1855 (5 volumes).
Correspondence, notes, accounts, valuations, and other papers, relating to a wide variety of mill and estate matters, 1788-1906 (111 items); farm accounts for beef sold, 1809-1811 (1 volume) and milk sold, 1825-1831 (1 volume); invoices and receipts, 1814-1820 (1 volume); valuation of estates in Morley and Styal, Cheshire, 1829 (1 volume); ledger of Robert Hyde Greg, including personal accounts, 1832-1834, the purchase of the Reddish Estate and subsequent partnerships, the history of the property in the West Indies, 1855, rent matters, plans of field changes on various farms, details of Oak Farm, Styal, and other estate matters, 1855-1875 (1 volume, part indexed); plan of lands in Styal, 1836; survey of Robert Hyde Greg's estates in Pownall Fee, near Wilmslow, Cheshire, no date, possibly 1836 (1 volume); Quarry Bank Estate ledger, also including entries relating to mill equipment, wages and work force, 1840-1952 (1 volume); ledger for Norcliffe estates, Cheshire, 1856-1927 (1 volume); ledger concerning property in Styal and Morley, Cheshire, including plans, details of tenants, woods and plantations, 1872-1898 (1 volume).
Microfilm (MF 4007) of memoranda book relating to Quarry Bank Mill, 1784-1903; private ledgers of Greg Brothers, of Manchester, 1865-1902; inventory and valuation of household furniture, apprentices' clothing, tools etc., at the premises of William Newton, at Cressbrook Mill, Tideswell, Derbyshire, including the house, apprentice house, mechanics room and ironfoundry; private letter book of Cressbrook Mill, 1881-1908.
Microfilm (MF 4008) circa 1784-circa 1860 of memoranda book of Robert Hyde Greg, compiled circa 1869, including histories and summary profit and loss details, for individual Greg family mills and other concerns, and genealogical information.
Related Material:Greg deeds and plans, circa 1613-1967 (10 boxes) can be found in a collection of Greg family papers (M127.C25) held at Manchester Archives and Local Studies
Place:Manchester/Manchester/Manchester/Lancashire/England
/Reddish/Manchester/Lancashire/England
/Tideswell/Derbyshire/England
/Wilmslow/Cheshire/England
Title:
R. Greg and Co. Ltd., of Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, Cheshire and Reddish, Lancashire, cotton spinners
Date of work:
1784-1952
Reference number:
GB127.C5
Level of description:
Fonds
Includes:
Custodial history:
Samuel Greg became a partner in the business of his uncles, Robert and Nathaniel Hyde, in 1780. In 1783 he took over the business, which continued as Samuel Greg and Co. Construction of Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, Cheshire, began in 1783 and was completed by 1784. Samuel Greg had a number of different partners in the Quarry Bank Mill business, including Peter Ewart, an engineer. After 1815, however, most of the partners in the various Greg ventures were members of the family. The Manchester-based firm, formerly run by his uncles, became the marketing business for the yarn and cloth produced by the Greg mills.Quarry Bank Mill began as a water-powered cotton spinning mill. Steam engines were used for supplementary power from 1796. The water wheel was only finally replaced by a water turbine system in 1903-4. Weaving began at the mill in the 1830s, and became the mill's sole concern from 1894 onwards. Because the local labour supply was insufficient for the mill's needs, workers had to be brought in from further afield. Many of the earlier cotton spinning workers were children, aged ten and upwards, apprenticed by their parents or by the poor law authorities. More than half of these were girls. In 1816 apprentices constituted a third of the labour force. Children came from as far afield as Liverpool and even London. The use of apprentices ended in 1847. Many of the free labourers at the mill also came from other areas of England in the first half of the 19th century. Weaving was mainly done by women and girls A factory colony gradually grew up around the mill to supply the needs of the workers. New constructions at Styal in the 1820s included workers cottages, the Norcliffe Chapel and Oak School. In 1939 the mill was given to the National Trust, with Styal village and estate.Most of the records listed below relate to Quarry Bank Mill, but some do deal with a number of the other mills the family were involved with. A steam-driven mule mill was built on land in Peter Street, Manchester, acquired in 1806. This remained a Greg concern until 1815. They had an interest in Low Mill, Caton, near Lancaster, from 1813 and acquired the mill in 1817. This was a cotton spinning mill until 1837, when power weaving was also introduced. Moor Lane Mill in Lancaster was purchased in 1822 and began operating as a steam-powered spinning and weaving mill in 1824. Between 1825 and 1828, the Gregs were involved with a mill in Ancoats, Manchester. In 1827 they acquired Hudcar Mill, Bury, a cotton spinning and weaving mill. Lowerhouse Mill, Bollington, near Macclesfield, Cheshire, a spinning and weaving concern, was leased from 1832.Following Samuel Greg's death, in 1834, the family partnership broke up in 1841, with each of his sons taking over the mill they had previously been managing. Quarry Bank Mill and the Manchester business became the responsibility of Robert Hyde Greg. From 1848 the business was carried on under the name R.H. Greg and Co. In 1847 a spinning and doubling mill in Calver, Derbyshire, was rented. Greg involvement continued until 1864. Construction of the Victoria and Albert Mills, Reddish, was completed in 1847. Victoria Mill was sold, but Albert Mill went on to become a highly successful Greg cotton spinning concern.After Robert Hyde Greg retired, in 1865, the Manchester business continued as Greg Brothers, primarily active as commission agents, specialising in the sale of coarse yarn and cloth from Greg and other mills. The firm also went into manufacturing. They acquired a spinning and doubling mill in Stockport, Cheshire, and acted as managing directors of Cressbrook Mills, Derbyshire, a cotton weaving business, from 1881.In addition to their manufacturing concerns, the Gregs held extensive estates. These included the Oak Farm and Styal estates, at Styal; property in Reddish, Manchester and Caton; extensive lands in Hertfordshire; land in New York State, U.S.A. and sugar plantations in the West Indies.(This h
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen
Use restrictions:
Restrictions vary
Location of originals:
Originals of those records on microfilm remain in private hands
Record types:
Manchester Archives and Local Studies
Language:
English
Record number:
7181386
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