Catalogue description Records of Fir Mill, Whalley Banks, Blackburn

Order books, Accounts, Reports etc

Fir Mill, Whalley Banks, Blackburn

Blackburn Riverside Mill Company

Whalley Bank Mill Company

Deposited by Mr. T.B. Fryer, 2 March 1990

Acc. 6662

Prior to 1960 the mill was run by the Riverside Mill Company. As a result of the 1959 'Government Textile Compensation Policy' the Whalley Bank Mill Company was founded by Mr. Thompson and 4 colleagues, each of whom invested £2000. They bought between 260 and 270 Lancashire looms with the object of accepting orders for and providing small quantities of cloth, i.e. smaller orders than larger companies would wish to undertake. Mr. Thomas B. Fryer joined the firm in 1968, and on Mr. Thompson's retirement in March 1969, Mr. Fryer took over the management of the mill and now (1990) with 2 colleagues, forms the Board.

In 1977 the Blakewater river was blocked by council workmen putting in new sewers, and as a result the mill was flooded. The slides in the collection show the damage done. The following year further sewering work undermined the mill and caused one wall to crack and become so dangerous that work was stopped in that area of the building. Both these events resulted in lengthy litigation with Blackburn District Council, which the mill finally won in the early 1980s.

In 1982/3 the Lancashire looms were scrapped; newscuttings and a plan of the proposed new layout of the shed with Northrops survive among the archive. The Lancashire looms were scrapped simply because Mr. Fryer could not find the skilled operatives necessary to work them.

The mill closed in 1990.

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