Greenside Mill was built in 1770 by William Marsden. He acquired Richard Field as an apprentice who later went on to marry Marsden's daughter, and by 1830 was in full control at Greenside. Marsden had previously bought some land which had a stream running through, suitable for damming to form a reservoir used for dyeing and finishing cloth. Greenside had later developed into a dye-house and warehouse, with weaving still being carried out by the staff off-site.
Richard Field wanted the business to be in his own name and he bought the Greenside property at market price following Marsden's death. The production gradually moved from fancy weaving to top quality shawls, and then quilting and skirting - adapting the production over time to suit the changes in fashion. In 1850 he expanded the establishment as demand for wider cloth increased. He built a new dye-house and installed an engine to turn the premises into a mill. He employed, and later took into partnership Thomas Gothard Bottrill, forming the company “Field and Bottrill” in 1872, concentrating on pile fabric and astrakhan production.
Finally Dawson Fabrics were the last company to occupy the mill, specialising in 'Circular' and 'Sliver' Knitting processes with a workforce of around 70 people. By February 2006 the majority of the staff had been made redundant. The mill was vacated in 2016 when the company went into liquidation.
Visited with @plod & @UrbanDoll. It was cool to see that the machinery had pretty much stopped mid-operation and a lot of the textiles and dyes had been left behind.
Richard Field wanted the business to be in his own name and he bought the Greenside property at market price following Marsden's death. The production gradually moved from fancy weaving to top quality shawls, and then quilting and skirting - adapting the production over time to suit the changes in fashion. In 1850 he expanded the establishment as demand for wider cloth increased. He built a new dye-house and installed an engine to turn the premises into a mill. He employed, and later took into partnership Thomas Gothard Bottrill, forming the company “Field and Bottrill” in 1872, concentrating on pile fabric and astrakhan production.
Finally Dawson Fabrics were the last company to occupy the mill, specialising in 'Circular' and 'Sliver' Knitting processes with a workforce of around 70 people. By February 2006 the majority of the staff had been made redundant. The mill was vacated in 2016 when the company went into liquidation.
Visited with @plod & @UrbanDoll. It was cool to see that the machinery had pretty much stopped mid-operation and a lot of the textiles and dyes had been left behind.
