Stott Park Bobbin Mill (Cumbria)

This extensive working mill was begun in 1835.

Summary 19th century buildings Gift shop Information provided

Food and Drinks Picnic area

Introduction

This extensive working mill was begun in 1835 to produce the wooden bobbins vital to the Lancashire spinning and weaving industries. Although small compared to other mills, some 250 men and boys (some drafted in from workhouses) worked here over the years in often arduous conditions to produce a quarter of a million bobbins a week. Guided tours are included in the admission charge: the last tour begins 1⁄2 hour before closing.

History to the present day

Tucked away in a wooded glade just to the west of Lake Windermere is a important piece of Britain's industrial heritage. Here stands one of the last Lake District bobbin mills, a reminder of the once vital industry that helped keep the cotton mills of Lancashire running. During the 19th century industrial revolution the cotton industry was vitally important, and the cotton mills of the north needed bobbins on which to wind the cotton thread they spun into cloth. A typical 19th century mill would have thousands of spindles, each on requiring several bobbins. 

Most of the bobbins supplied to Lancashire's cotton mills were produced in what is now Cumbria. The lakeland valleys provided perfect growing conditions for coppiced wood, providing the raw material from which bobbins were made. The fast flowing streams that descend from the high fells provided a plentiful source of energy to power the bobbin mills.

The first mill at Stott Park was built in 1835 as a speculative enterprise by John Harrison, a yeoman farmer of Lakeside. Harrison's intention was not to run the mill himslef, but to lease the factory. The first lessee a Mr Rushford, but the family most associated with Stott Park was the Coward family, who were involved with several of the bobbin mills in the area. Working conditions in a Victorian bobbin mill were poor, with respiratory problems and extreme poverty rife amongst the workforce.

Te American Civil War of the 1860s put a damper on the previously insatiable market for cotton and woollen cloth and the bobbin industry suffered accordingly. The industry never really recovered  and mills such as Stott Park had to diversify to survive produceing a wide variety of wooden implements, from rungs for rope ladders used by the British Navy, to tool handles and toggles for duffle coats. This diversification allowed the mill to continue working long after many similar institutions had floundered, however finally in 1971 the end came for Stott Park Bobbin Mill.

Arrival information and how to find us

Address: Stott Park Bobbin Mill, Cumbria, , United Kingdom

Opening times:

1 Apr-1 Nov: 11am-5pm Mon-Fri.

Please call for details of steam days. 

Admission prices:  Guided tours are included in the admission charge: the last tour begins 1⁄2 hour before closing.

Adult:£4.50

Children:£2.30

Concession:£3.80

Family Ticket: £11.30

Photographs copyright English Heritage Photographic Library.