Bowers Mill

Bowers Mill / The History of the Mill

The History of the Mill

Bowers Mill began life in the seventeenth century as a water-powered fulling mill, pounding woven wool cloth in the waters of the Black Brook until it thickened into weatherproof Yorkshire cloth.

Bowers Mills in watercolour, 1994
Bowers Mills in watercolour, 1994

Pictures and a map of the mill's working past can be found in In the Blackburne Valley - The History of Bowers Mills by Augustus Muir.

The mill as drawn in Augustus Muir's "In the Blackburne Valley"
The mill as drawn in Augustus Muir's "In the Blackburne Valley"
The mill and its valley on the old map
The mill and its valley on the old map
The mill in its working days
The mill in its working days

The neighbouring mills

At the bottom of Branch Road you will find Barkisland Mill, and if you turn left and head up Beestonley Lane you will see what is left of Bankhouse Mill on your left-hand side. Both buildings are now apartments. Bowers is the last of the three still working.

Barkisland Mill and Bankhouse Mill from the air, before conversion
Barkisland Mill and Bankhouse Mill from the air, before conversion
Further reading

From the archive

From the archive

From Wool to Computers

How the punch cards that drove Yorkshire looms became the blueprint for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, and eventually the modern computer.

From the archive

From Luddites to AI

Textile workers smashed the machines that took their jobs two centuries ago. What can the Luddites teach us about the age of AI?