Royd Mill, Oldham

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title: "Royd Mill, Oldham" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["textile-mills-in-the-metropolitan-borough-of-oldham", "buildings-and-structures-in-oldham", "demolished-buildings-and-structures-in-greater-manchester", "textile-mills-owned-by-the-lancashire-cotton-corporation", "cotton-mills-in-greater-manchester"] description: "Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England" topic_path: "general/textile-mills-in-the-metropolitan-borough-of-oldham" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royd_Mill,_Oldham" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Mill building|name=Royd Mill"]

Field	Value
image	Royd Mill, Hollinwood.jpg
caption	The mill in 1983
textile_type	Cotton
building_type	Spinning
location	Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England
map_type	Greater Manchester
map_caption	Location in Greater Manchester
coordinates
serving_canal	Rochdale Canal, Hollinwood Branch Canal
serving_railway	Oldham Loop Line
owner	Royd Mill Ltd.
owner_2	Lancashire Cotton Corporation
acquisition_date_2	1930s
owner_3	Courtaulds
acquisition_date_3	1964
demolition_date	2015
architect	A.J. Howcroft
engine_date	1907
engine_maker	J & E Wood
engine_type	inverted vertical triple expansion engine
engine_valve	Corliss valves
engine_cylinder	18 ½"HP, 28 ½"IP, 43"LP X 3ft 6" stroke
engine_rpm	94 rpm
engine_ihp	900
engine_fly_diameter	14/16ft
transmission_type	rope
no_of_ropes	20
boilers	Triple Tetlow, coal fired
psi	180psi
equipment_maker	Asa Lees, and Howard & Bullough
mule_frames	80,000 spindles (1915)
references
::

| image = Royd Mill, Hollinwood.jpg | caption = The mill in 1983 | textile_type = Cotton | building_type = Spinning | architectural_style = | structural_system = | cost = | employees = | location = Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England | altitude = | map_type = Greater Manchester | map_caption = Location in Greater Manchester | coordinates = | serving_canal = Rochdale Canal, Hollinwood Branch Canal | serving_railway = Oldham Loop Line | serving_river = | owner = Royd Mill Ltd. | owner_2 = Lancashire Cotton Corporation | acquisition_date_2 = 1930s | owner_3 = Courtaulds | acquisition_date_3 = 1964 | owner_4 = | acquisition_date_4 = | current_tenants = | current_owner = | start_date = | completion_date = | renovation_date = | re-equiptment_date_2 = | re-equiptment_date_3 = | change_of_use_date = | demolition_date = 2015 | destruction_date = | height = | other_dimensions = | floor_count = | floor_area = | floor_height = | floor_usage = | floor_construction = | main_contractor = | architect = A.J. Howcroft | architecture_firm = | structural_engineer = | other_designers = | awards = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_awards = | engine_date = 1907 | engine_decommissioned = | engine_maker = J & E Wood | engine_type = inverted vertical triple expansion engine | engine_valve = Corliss valves | engine_cylinder = 18 ½"HP, 28 ½"IP, 43"LP X 3ft 6" stroke | engine_rpm = 94 rpm | engine_kWatt = | engine_ihp = 900 | engine_fly_diameter = 14/16ft | transmission_type = rope | no_of_ropes = 20 | boilers = Triple Tetlow, coal fired | boiler_temperature = | psi = 180psi | wheels = | diameter_of_water_wheel = | width_of_wheel = | wheel_rpm = | equipment_maker = Asa Lees, and Howard & Bullough | date_of_equipping = | no_of_looms = | cotton_count = | scutchers = | carding_engines = | doublers = | kiers = | other_equipment = | mule_frames = 80,000 spindles (1915) | ring_frames = | references =

Royd Mill, Oldham was a cotton spinning mill in Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1907, and extended in 1912 and 1924. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production finished in 1981. The mill was demolished in 2015 to make way for a "DifRent" housing scheme.

Location

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, 5.3 mi south-southeast of Rochdale, and 6.9 mi northeast of the city of Manchester. Oldham is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham; Chadderton and Hollinwood are such settlements. Chadderton and Hollinwood are served by the Rochdale Canal and the Hollinwood Branch Canal. A rail service was provided by the Oldham Loop Line which was built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

History

Oldham rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first ever industrialised towns, rapidly becoming "one of the most important centres of cotton and textile industries in England", spinning Oldham counts, the coarser counts of cotton. Oldham's soils were too thin and poor to sustain crop growing, and so for decades prior to industrialisation the area was used for grazing sheep, which provided the raw material for a local woollen weaving trade. It was not until the last quarter of the 18th century that Oldham changed from being a cottage industry township producing woollen garments via domestic manual labour, to a sprawling industrial metropolis of textile factories. The first mill, Lees Hall, was built by William Clegg in about 1778. Within a year, 11 other mills had been constructed, but by 1818 there were only 19 of these privately owned mills.

It was in the second half of the 19th century, that Oldham became the world centre for spinning cotton yarn. This was due in a large part to the formation of limited liability companies known as Oldham Limiteds. In 1851, over 30% of Oldham's population was employed within the textile sector, compared to 5% across Great Britain. At its zenith, it was the most productive cotton spinning mill town in the world. By 1871 Oldham had more spindles than any country in the world except the United States, and in 1909, was spinning more cotton than France and Germany combined. By 1911 there were 16.4 million spindles in Oldham, compared with a total of 58 million in the United Kingdom and 143.5 million in the world; in 1928, with the construction of the UK's largest textile factory Oldham reached its manufacturing zenith. At its peak, there were over 360 mills, operating night and day;

Royd Mill was built in 1907 for Messrs Murgatroyd of Sunnybank House, but taken over shortly after by Royd Mill Ltd, and extended in 1912. The industry peaked that year when it produced 8 billion yards of cloth. The Great War of 1914–18 halted the supply of raw cotton, and the British government encouraged its colonies to build mills to spin and weave cotton. The war over, Lancashire never regained its markets. The independent mills were struggling, but Royd mill expanded again in 1924. The Bank of England set up the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1929 to attempt to rationalise and save the industry. Royd Mill, Oldham was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived through to 1950, and continued until 1981.

Architecture

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Royd_Mill,_Oldham_0007.png" caption="Royd Mill before 1951"] ::

Power

Driven by a 900 hp inverted vertical triple expansion engine by J & E Wood, 1907. It had a 14/16 ft flywheel with 20 ropes, operating at 94 rpm. The original three Tetlow boilers still supplied steam at 180psi, when in 1961 electric drives were installed.

Equipment

In 1915, it had 80,000 spindles by Asa Lees, and Howard & Bullough.

Owners

• Messrs Murgatroyd
• Royd Mill Ltd
• Lancashire Cotton Corporation (1930s–1964)
• Courtaulds (1964–)

References

Notes

Bibliography

References

1. {{Harvnb. LCC. 1951
2. (2015-08-11). "New Lease of Life for Mill Sites". Oldham Evening Chronicle.
3. "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office.
4. Oldham County Borough Council. (1973). "Official Handbook of Oldham".
5. Butterworth, Edwin. (1981). "Historical Sketches of Oldham". E. J. Morten.
6. Bateson, Hartley. (1949). "A Centenary History of Oldham". [[County Borough of Oldham.
7. (2000). "A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Greater Manchester". Association for Industrial Archaeology.
8. Foster, John. (1974). "Class Struggle and the Industrial Revolution – Early industrial capitalism in three English towns". Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
9. {{Harvnb. Gurr. Hunt. 1998
10. "NW Cotton Towns Learning Journey". spinningtheweb.org.uk.
11. Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council. (2001). "Contaminated Land Strategy 2001". oldham.gov.uk.
12. "Visit Oldham – The History of Oldham". visitoldham.co.uk.
13. "Spinning The Web – Oldham". spinningtheweb.org.uk.
14. {{Harvnb. Gurr. Hunt. 1998
15. {{Harvnb. Dunkerley. 2009
16. {{harvnb. Roberts. 1921

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