Trowbridge - The Manchester of the West
Did this Wiltshire town rival the northern giants?
The county town of Wiltshire, Trowbridge was once a major woollen producer. The final mill to close was Samuel Salter’s Home Mill, in 1982 which is now incorporated into The Shires Shopping Centre and is home to the Trowbridge Museum.
Was Trowbridge The Manchester of The West?
Britain was once the leading woollen cloth manufacturer in the world. At one time woollen mills abounded and as the process became industrialised, large mills sprung up in Manchester and moved onto producing cotton as ships brought in the raw materials from the New World.
Other northern towns, such as Bradford situated across the Pennine Hills from Manchester, had a large-scale mill industry.
To the south, in the West of England, Trowbridge was making its presence known. Though a small town it grew as at the time woollen mills rose from the ground.
With the trade came the entrepreneurs who built grand houses, many of which are in the town centre, converted into banks and shops. Houses dating back to the 18th century abound as more mills were established.
The reputation of Trowbridge’s mills grew and in 1747 Elizabeth, Empress of Russia sent an agent to Trowbridge to order 'plump cloths and good full colours'. The writer, Daniel Defoe recorded that Trowbridge was famed for 'The finest medley Spanish cloths, not in England but in the whole world...'.
Trowbridge grew to contain 14 mills and 4 dye houses by the 1850s. Some of the buildings remain and have been converted into other uses, residential, commercial and industrial. The mills were built to last and unless neglected or demolished have stood the test of time.
Stone Mill (pictured above) is on a site that has been used as a fulling1 mill as early as 1602. At the end of the 18th century, it was developed for large-scale cloth production. 1906 saw it acquired by Samuel Salter and it closed in 1982. A long history especially when you consider when in 1544 a mill which stood on this site was purchased by Alexander Langford.
There is a most interesting relic from the cloth manufacturing industry that lies in the town and straddles the River Biss on a segmental bridge. It’s Handle House (photo below), built in 1844 for drying teasel2 for use at Studley Mill. It was given the name Handle as the process for drying the teasel used handles. The teasels became wet in the process and were dried so they could be reused.
In the photograph (click to enlarge) you can see that the building is full of gaps to allow the air to flow through for the drying process.
Handle House has been used as an office but is currently being assessed to see if it’s possible to turn it into a home without affecting the outside. It is a Grade 2 listed building.
The mill owners became wealthy, and many of their houses in the town centre remain and have been converted over the years for commercial use. For more information about some of the buildings, see my story about Trowbridge Blue Plaques.
Trowbridge certainly played an important part in the cloth manufacturing industry in Britain. There is much history for me to investigate and stories to tell. It looks like a trip to Trowbridge Museum will be required!
Thanks for reading.
Fulling is the process of removing the oils and impurities from wool.
Teasel is a plant, the heads of which are spiky. The teasel heads were used to raise the nap on the woollen cloth to make it soft and have a uniform surface.
Very interesting that Roland.
People are always surprised to learn that Trowbridge has more Grade II listed buildings than Bradford on Avon. I used to work at Parade House - my first job after university for Ushers Brewery.