John Pooley and Son

of Hulme, Manchester

Reference to John Pooley & Sons in an article about factory chimneys: 'Two united chimneys of this kind were, not many years ago, in use, with two of Boulton and Watt's original 20 horse boilers, in the cotton-spinning works of Messrs. John Pooley & Sons, in Manchester. The case was remarkable, from the fact that the engineer of the firm once attempted to improve (as he thought) the draught of the chimney by breaking an opening through the midfeather, in order that the smoke might fill both the flues. The result was, the draught was entirely lost, and the communication had to be closed up again before the engine could be got to work.'

1798 Boulton and Watt supplied a 'sun and planet' beam engine to 'John Pooley and his partners for their cotton mill in Hulme, South Manchester'. The engine was of 24 horses power, with a 25¼ inch cylinder, 6 foot stroke. 18ft dia flywheel. In 1803 to 1804 the power of the engine was increased to 30 horses. Original drawings of the engine and boilers are available on the 'Digital Handsworth' website. and here.

1818 John Pooley, jun. and Co. of Hulme, listed as cotton spinners in Pigot's Commercial Directory.

1826 '....a commission of bankrupt awarded and issued forth against JOHN POOLEY the elder, JOHN POOLE the younger, of Hulme, in the county of Lancaster, cotton spinner, dealer and chapman, and copartners, and they being declared bankrupts, are hereby required to surrender themselves to :he commissioners....'

1827 Advertisement: 'Valuable COTTON MACHINERY, STEAM ENGINES &c. Exempt from Duty. TO Be SOLD BY AUCTION…… THE whole of the valuable MACHINERY, (now at work.) at Hulme Mills, in the occupation of the assignees of John Pooley and Son. consisting of Carding Engines, Drawing-Frames, Throstles, Mules, &c. &c. with every requisite preparation. Particulars will be given a future Advertisement. Apply to Mr. Joseph Armstrong, Back-square. Mr. Henry Moult, Half Moon street, Mr. T. C. Hewes, Dale-street, the assignees; and to Mr. Alexander Kay, their solicitor, 12, Brown-street, Manchester.

1828 Bankruptcy superseded

1841 Listings in Pigot & Slater's Directory of Manchester & Salford, 1841: John Pooley and Son, cotton spinners, Clarence Street, Hulme; John Pooley, house - Princess Street, Hulme; John Pooley jun., house - Clarence Street, Hulme.

1853 'The announcement of the suspension of the old and respectable house of Mr. John Pooley, cotton spinner, here, has been heard with much regret. The liabilities, which amount to about 17,006l., fall chiefly, we understand, on the cotton merchants and brokers.

1854 The mill, machinery and land advertised for sale.

Location

The 1849 36" map shows the mill to be located on the edge of the Manchester conurbation. A few hundred yards to the west were fields and parkland. Immediately south of the mill were large cavalry barracks. The mill was fairly large, and had evidently developed in stages (the map shows two separate boiler houses and two separate engine houses). There was a large reservoir in the grounds (approx. 50 yards by 40), and also a smaller reservoir. The grounds also included gardens and two rows of houses, known as Pooley's Buildings. The whole site appears to be enclosed by walls.

To the south west of the mill is a very large house overlooking Cornbrook Park, identifed as 'Pooley's Houses'. The Corn Brook passed through the park. A path through the gardens behind the houses led to the mill, passing under King Street by a tunnel. King Street would hardly be a busy thoroughfare, as it only served the barracks, so presumably the tunnel met Messrs Pooley's needs for security and privacy.

Accident in 1842

'FATALITY FROM THE BURSTING OF A BOILER-FLUE. THREE MEN KILLED. On Wednesday afternoon explosion of somewhat singular nature took place in one of the boilers at the cotton-mill of Messrs. John Pooley and Sons, of Tatton-street, Hulme, by which, we regret to say, three of the men in Messrs. Pooley's employ have lost their lives. It appears that there are six boilers on the premises, four or five of which are in constant use, it being the practice to allow each boiler, in turn, to lie unemployed for a week. Shortly after two o'clock on the afternoon in question, the engines having been set to work at two o'clock, after the dinner hour, and all apparently going on right, the height of the steam being not more than nine inches, the engineer, Peter Taylor, left the boiler-house, for a temporary purpose, and before he had been absent three minutes, he saw steam, intermingled with dust, issuing from the passage leading to the boiler-house. The boiler-house was densely filled with steam and smoke. Patrick Tye and his brother, John Tye, the firemen, with three other men, named William Burns, Bernard Mullenphy, and David Fannan, were sitting round the fire in the boiler-house, whither they had gone for the purpose of eating their dinners. They were all dreadfully scalded, with the exception of John Tye, who got out unhurt. Two of the men were able to walk out; the others were got out as soon as possible, and they were all conveyed to the Infirmary, where they were received about a quarter to three o'clock. The utmost attention was immediately paid to them, but their injuries were so severe that three of them died soon after. Burns died about half-past seven the same evening, Mullenphy about nine o'clock, and Fannan about five the following morning. Burns resided at 8, Victoria Buildings, Moss-lane: he has left a wife, but no family. other two were single men. Mullenphy resided at 21, Moss-lane, and Fannan lodged in Barrack-street, Hulme. The fourth man, Patrick Tye, one of the firemen, was severely scalded; but we learnt, on inquiring at the Infirmary yesterday, that hopes are entertained of his recovery.

'The cause of the accident is somewhat remarkable. Upon investigation it was found that a rent or tear had taken place: in one the seams of the flue, which passes through the boiler, inside the boiler; this had admitted the water, which, being instantly converted into steam by the great heat, rushed through the "tack-up" and the ash-pit, into the place where the men were standing. The opinions are various to the cause of the rent. The height at which the steam was working the time, nine inches, is quite insufficient to account for it. Peter Taylor, the engineer, an intelligent man, supposes that vacuum must have been formed inside the flue, the formation and ignition of gas, arising from some of the products of combustion ; and hence the external pressure had caused the flue to burst. In this opinion he is supported by Mr. John Galloway, engineer and boilermaker, who was examined before the coroner's jury. Mr. Nathan Gough, engineer, foreman of the jury, entertains, however, a different opinion, believing the accident to have arisen from a defective form of the flue. On all hands, however, it is agreed that the occurrence was purely accidental, and could not. have been foreseen.

'The inquest on the bodies was held yesterday morning at the Infirmary, before W. S. Rutter, Esq., coroner, and a respectable jury, of whom Mr. Nathan Gough was the foreman. Mr. Pooley, sen., was present, and laid before the coroner and jury a plan of the situation of the boilers and engines, order that they might better understand the evidence. The following depositions were made :—

'Peter Taylor, of Tatton-street, Hulme, deposed : I am an engineer the cotton mill of Messrs. John Pooley and Sons, Tatton-street, Hulme, where the three deceased persons were employed as card-grinders and strippers. Patrick Tye, who is now sick in the Infirmary, from the circumstances of this accident, and his brother, John Tye, were firemen to me. On Wednesday afternoon last, about twenty minutes' past two o'clock, I left the boiler-house to into the engine-house to look round there, leaving John Tye and Patrick in the boiler-house, but no one else as I supposed. After examining the engine-house I went into the smithy, which is just across the yard, and turned look at the chimney, and then saw steam issuing from the door of the passage leading to the boiler-house, and in an instant I saw that it was intermingled with dust. Upon this I ran into the boiler house and found it so densely filled that I could not see anything. I went about half-way and heard the men call out. There is a flight of steps leading to the coal-place, and I went down, thinking to assist in getting them out, and I found that they were going up the coal-passage. James Woodall, who works above the boiler, came down, and he got two of the men out; two others walked out themselves. Those four men are the three deceased persons and Patrick Tye, and they were all severely scalded. I found that John Tye had got out unhurt; he was running across the yard when I saw him. The four scalded persons were immediately conveyed to the Infirmary. William Burns was 24 years of age, and has left a widow. Mullenphy was 27, and a single man. Fannan was about 25, and a single man. After they were removed from the coalhouse I proceeded to stop the communication between the boiler from which the steam issued and the others there, being three others working at that time. Having done so I took down the shutters to let the steam out, and then stopped the engines. I then took means to examine the cause of the escape, and in the course of about an hour and half I got upon the flame-bed under the boiler, but the heat was too intense. I then took up the man-hole cover, and found that there was nearly five feet of water in the boiler; it was let out and carried away. By this time it was ten o'clock and I then introduced a light through the man-hole and saw a tear or seam-rent on the top of the internal flue in the boiler. That flue conveys the heat of the fire through the boiler, the water surrounding it. The water lying above the flue found its wav into it through the same rent, and had then run into the back part of the boiler. It then went through the tack-up, and the ash-pit, into the coal-place, where these were. My. opinion is there must have been a vacuum formed inside the flue by some means, from the various products of combustion; if so, that would be the principal cause. We had not our steam at its regular height. The place where the rent was had collapsed, and split end-ways; had it gone upwards there would have been an explosion. It opened about three inches in the middle, the width of the rent decreasing to nothing at the end. One of the boilers is examined inside and out every week; so that they are each examined about once in five weeks. The one which the flue has burst was examined four weeks since last Saturday. I examine the boilers in cleaning them, and if I think anything is the matter with them I send for the boiler maker, and ask his opinion. I saw not the slightest imperfection when I examined this boiler last time. I looked at the inside throughout. I don't go round the boiler outside every time, but examine the bottom both inside out, where the greatest heat is. It could not have been the work of any external agency. It was rather unusual for the men to go in there to eat their dinners, but they have done it during this very cold weather, and I did not ask them to out, as they were always very quiet and civil; they were there for that purpose on this occasion. At the time I left the boiler, the steam was not so high as usual, and the accident occurred almost instantly afterwards; not above three minutes could have elapsed.

'By a Juror —I have been in Mr. Pooley's employ six years and profess to be an engineer. My father was a millwright and engineer. I am not aware of any similar occurrence in my practice ; we never had an accident of any sort. This boiler has been in work about nine years; it has been repaired three or four times in my time. I considered it to be perfectly in working condition. I should have considered myself quite safe if I had been under it when it was working. The flue had been repaired, the last time about twelve months since, at the angle at the rivets, where a small leakage was observed. The rent has not taken place in any part that had been repaired.

'John Tye, one of the firemen employed at Messrs. Pooley's, deposed - I was at the fire-hole when this occurrence took place; my brother was with me, about tour or five yards from where the boiler burst. The deceased persons were also sitting before the fire; they had been there about ten minutes or a quarter an hour. They had had their dinners. I was eating dinner when it happened. I first discovered that the door of the firehole had blown open; the smoke issued out so that I could not see the men, and then went out. The engineer had been gone about five or ten minutes. I have been in this employ about twelve months. The engines stop during the dinner hour, from one to two. I set on two of the engines, and the engineer set on three. There was nine inches of steam in this boiler at the time of the accident, which not more than usual when they are working. I have cleaned this boiler, but don't know when was the last time ; I saw nothing wrong in it then. One boiler is cleaned every week; there are six boilers but two of them stop at the same time. The boilers are connected by valves; I believe the steam rushed from the others also at the time, but I cannot speak to it. I believe there had been interference with the valves.

'By a Juror.-After I set the engines on, the height of the steam was only eight inches. The boiler that has burst would have been the next to have stopped. Mr. John Galloway, of the firm of W. and J. Galloway, deposed — I am a boiler-maker engineer, and this boiler has been attended to by our foreman. I have examined the rent, and found precisely as the engineer has stated, right across the flue. In my judgment, there must have been great pressure to have caused it, and must have been vacuum inside the tube, probably caused by the formation of gas and its explosion. Such an accident could not have been produced by the pressure at which the engine was working. The engines were not loaded more than is usual. The boiler appeared in other respects quite sound and competent to the power put upon it. I know that it usually works from eight to nine inches of steam, and the boilers are always very carefully looked after. I am not aware of any similar occurrence; it is a circumstance that could not be foreseen. Every five or six weeks is quite often enough for the boilers to be cleaned out. The boiler and flue were of the general description of strength.

'By a Juror—I am not aware that it is customary for gas to form inside a boiler. I have known fire doors to fly open in a man's face. The height at which the steam was working was quite insufficient to account for it. No brick-work was at all disturbed by the accident. I don't consider the form of the flue the best possible; it has been used for the purpose of getting a greater quantity of water at the top of the flue ; but it is a plan which is not now followed up. I don't think it possible that double or treble the pressure of steam would have produced the accident.

Mr. Pooley, sen., who had been present during the examination, here offered to answer any questions the coroner or the gentlemen of the jury might wish to put, but it was not thought necessary to ask anything.

'The Coroner, addressing Mr. Gough, the foreman, said he would take his opinion as to whether it was necessary to proceed any further in this inquiry, or whether the evidence was not fully sufficient to lead them to the conclusion that the occurrence was one which could not be foreseen. Mr. Gough said he was quite satisfied that it could not be foreseen. He believed that the accident had been caused, not by any formation of gas, as the engineer supposed, but by the imperfect form of the flue, which had allowed the top to come down, and thereby caused the rent: he considered, however, that the matter was perfectly accidental.

'The Coroner said that an inquiry into the causes which had led to the accident, might interest persons connected with these matters; but if the jury were satisfied that this was the result of accident, it would not be necessary to carry the matter further.

'The porter of the Infirmary having given information as to the time when the men died.

'The jury immediately found a verdict of "Death from accidental causes."'

Comment: Boiler explosions were by no means uncommon in the 19th century, and efforts to minimise their occurrence were lamentable. The inquest reported here seems to be fairly typical, with little effort to identify the real causes or to make recommendations which might prevent recurrence elsewhere.

See Also

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