of Stroud, Glos.
1865 Josiah Greathead Strachan acquired Lodgemore cloth mills with Frome Hall Mill.
1871 Lodgemore Mill was completely destroyed by fire.
1873 Mill rebuilt. See below.
1890 Josiah Greathead Strachan sold out to Strachan and Co.
1920 Strachan & Co formed an association with Hunt and Winterbotham of Cam and William Playne of Longfords Mill.
2021 Lodgemore Mills is the HQ of WSP Textiles (Winterbotham, Strachan & Playne), a division of Peltzer and Fils of Belgium. See here for WSP company history.
1873 Report
From the Stroud News and Gloucestershire Advertiser, 27 June 1873
' RE-OPENING OF LODGEMORE MILLS.
'Nearly two years ago we recorded with sincere regret the total destruction of Lodgemore Cloth Mills by fire, but now we record, with more than equal pleasure, the first step toward the opening of the new mills, namely, the formal starting and naming of the engines, which are of course the motive power by which the whole of the work is carried on. It will be remembered that after the disastrous conflagration to which we refer, and the like of which had not been witnessed in the borough for many years, serious fears were entertained as to the consequences which might ensue from the throwing out of work of several hundred persons, and one or two public meetings were at once called, to raise funds in order to meet any contingency that may subsequently arise. Messrs. Strachan and Co., however, with that characteristic generosity which has ever manifested itself in their dealings with their employees, made the best of a bad job, for very shortly afterwards they engaged the Brimscombe Port Mills and also Day's Mills at Nailsworth, and by this means most of the old hands were enabled to return to work, and thus the distressing results at first anticipated were averted. In the meantime steps were taken for the erection of new buildings, although for a month or two nothing was to be seen on the premises but the huge mass of debris resulting from the catastrophe, the place being left in this state on account of a slight dispute with the Insurance Companies. Negotiations were opened with the late Mr. James Ferrabee, the well-known mechanical engineer of Brimscombe, who ultimately submitted a plan for an entirely new building, which was accepted by the proprietors. The difficulty with regard to insurance having been surmounted, it was resolved to proceed at once with the work, Mr. Ferrabee being appointed engineer and general superintendent of the whole. Accordingly the work was commenced about twenty months ago, and in a few weeks it will be in a perfect state of completion.
'The new mills are built on the site of the old Lodgemore Mills, but are totally different in construction and arrangement, one noticeable feature being that the lofty chimney stack is a considerable distance from the building, instead of being close to it as previously. They are also built on the most approved principle, for Mr. Ferrabee being himself a cloth manufacturer, as well as an engineer, he necessarily knew how it should be built on the one hand, and how to do it on the other, and thus we see that every advantage is taken of the ground, the high bank at the back of the mill being economically utilised to form a floor to the extended portion of the monster room on the third floor used for carding, spinning, and doubling. The mills throughout are built of red and blue bricks, and the main building is 196 feet long, about 50 feet in width, and the same number of feet in height This portion runs parallel with the stream, while at the west end the building is continued at right angles to a distance of about 20 feet, the whole of the outer front walls being supported by pilasters about 14 feet apart, and of considerable thickness. On entering by the north door, which is situated close to the angle of the building, we find on the right hand a well-adapted room for the first process of scouring and cleaning the wool, and on retracing our steps near to the doorway, there is a large pit in which the washers stand, for the purpose of scouring and cleaning the cloths, being supplied with water from the adjacent stream. In the same room with the washers, but a little farther to the left, are two long rows of fullers, the use of which is to mill the cloth up to certain substances ; while continuing our steps in the same direction we come upon several rows of gigs, employed of course in the dressing of cloth. Then there are the necessary rolling machines, and also the stages, with handles, by which to hold the mill work for the gigs. The large room in which all these machines are contained is about 15 feet high, the roof being formed with arches, built on cast-iron girders, and supported by two rows of cast-iron columns about 15 feet apart, which were supplied by Messrs. Apperley and Co., of Dudbridge, and are in diameter about 10 inches, and 11 feet 6 inches in height. The shafts, wheels, and such-like gearing in this room, have been erected by Messrs. Cooke, Vick, and Co., of the same place. Adjoining this room is that occupied by the two powerful engines, of which we shall speak presently. The foundations to this room are unusually substantial, consisting of solid blocks of stone of various sizes, some being no less than 7 feet long by 4 feet 6 inches in width, and the average depth is about 10 feet 6 inches. This engine room is about 20 feet wide, and extends in length to the back wall, a distance of nearly 50 feet ; it is also very lofty, having an open span roof, which will be stained and varnished. Passing from the ground to the second floor, we come to another spacious room devoted to cutting purposes, and known as the cutting shop, which is about 15 feet in height, and the roof is similarly supported by cast-iron columns. Here are also to be found brushers, for brushing and steaming the cloth when manufactured, as well as a powerful hydraulic press, for pressing and giving lustre to the cloth. The floor is fire proof, being made of brick work with iron girders, and covered by red and blue diamond-shaped tiles, about a foot square and two inches thick. The gearing in this shop was erected by Messrs. Mustard and Aston, of Stroud. At the back of the cutting room, and running parallel with it for its whole length, by about 16 feet in width, is the under ground store room, which though on a level with the second floor from the front of the main building, yet it is under ground on account of the bank on the south side. It is not lighted, as it is simply used for keeping oil and other similar storage purposes. On this floor, at the west angle, is a convenient office, about 25 feet by 16 feet, and which is occupied by Mr. Roberts, one of the partners in the firm. The third and top story consists of one immense room, the roof of which supported by about ninety cast-iron columns. It extends the whole length of the main building, and consequently it is 196 feet long, being also 180 feet in width, and 286 feet in its longest distance from corner to corner. The floor is laid with similar tiles to that below, only all are blue, and the room is covered with a shed roof. It is intended as a carding, spinning, and doubling room, and already there are comprised within its spacious dimensions some fourteen sets of carding engines, supplied by Messrs. Lister, of Dursley, and Mr. Tatham, of Rochdale. There are sixteen mules for spinning, also supplied by Mr. Tatham, and at one end of the room, near to a temporary office, there are two fine machines for doubling yarns. The shafting and gearing in this room have been put up by Messrs. Waller and Co., of London, and of the Phoenix Works, Stroud. Adjacent to the engine house a tower runs up to the top of the building, and on its summit is a large iron cistern supplied with water by means of a seven-horsepower donkey engine in an adjoining building. The tower is really the heart of the work, as in it the gearing is fixed which drives the whole of the shafting throughout the several floors, and it is so constructed that by means of a pair of clutch couplings, any line of shafting can be thrown out, as occasion may require. This gearing was supplied by Jackson and Co of Manchester, and erected by Messrs. Mustard and Acton. At the west corner of the building a hoist has been erected by Messrs. Wren and Hopkinson, of Manchester, about 7 feet long by 6 feet 6 inches wide, and which communicates with each floor. It is enclosed by massive iron doors, from Messrs. Chew and Sons, of Stroud, and is rendered fireproof, and the staircase near is likewise shut off in a similar manner, and made proof against the devouring element. The staircase leading to the various parts of the building are of a very substantial character, being constructed of solid stone; and all the roofs are supplied with cast-iron gutters. Separated from the main building by a distance of about a dozen feet, necessary to meet the requirements of the insurance companies, are ether commodious rooms, the first of which, on the ground floor, is for the potting of cloth, with a roof of groined arches, and in which stands the donkey engine used for supplying the cistern, &c., with water. Adjoining this is the boiler house, which is at the eastern extremity of the mills, and is a square building 42 feet by 42 feet, with a lofty span roof, of wrought iron, supplied by Messrs. Chew and Sons. There are three boilers placed in a range, one of which did duty in the old mills, while the other two have been furnished by Messrs. W. and J. Galloway and Sons, Knotmill Iron Works, Manchester, a name which has a world-wide reputation in the manufacture of this class of machinery. These two new ones are the patent safety boilers so well known in connection with the firm, and are numbered 2,630 and 2,631 respectively. They are 7 feet in diameter and about 24 feet long; are constructed with conical tubes and fitted with a smoke-consuming apparatus. Many of these boilers have been sent to the East and West Indies, and to other parts of the world. The steam is judiciously conveyed from the boiler house through an underground tunnel to the engines, and by this means the excessive heat is considerably modified. Ascending a flight of stone steps between the main and other buildings, we turn in on the left to another fire proof room, called the tentering house, supported by columns of cast iron, in which is the patent racking machine, employed for bringing out the cloths to their proper width and for drying purposes also. Reaching the top floor by another flight of steps, we come to the picking and oiling shops, properly fitted up with machinery, and occupying an area of 100 feet by 30 feet, these shops being the last worthy of notice, though there are some other smaller rooms in different parts of the mills. There is, however, one other important feature which must not be forgotten, and that is the lofty chimney stack, which on account of its great height can be seen for a distance of several miles. This is entirely separated from the mills, being situated on the south east side, close to the side of the Nailsworth Road, and about 25 yards from the boiler house. It stands 145 feet high from the foundation, and is 10 feet 6 inch. square at the base, tapering to 6 feet 5 inch. square at the neck, with a cap on the top about 10 feet square. The flue from the boilers to the base of the stack is built on an incline, large enough to admit of a short person walking up, while the flue of the stack itself is about four feet in diameter. The whole of the mills are supplied with the north light, which is by far the best for the manufacture of cloth. All the floors, too, are made fire-proof, and everything has been done to prevent such a catastrophe as that which befel the late building. Every contractor has also carried out his work in a most satisfactory manner, and the completeness with which everything has been executed must be highly gratifying to the proprietors. As we have before stated. the engineer of the new premises was Mr. James Ferrabee, but unfortunately he died in January last before the work was completed. This naturally was a drawback, but his son. Mr. John Ferrabee, (who is now carrying on his father's business in conjunction with his brother, under the title of John and James Ferabee, consulting mechanical engineers,) who had hitherto assisted him, was enabled by great perseverance to carry out the plans of his father, and to accomplish the work ; and to his untiring energy must be attributed a great deal of the success of the undertaking. The builders employed were Mr. George Drew, of Chalford, and Messrs. Cox and Son, of Nailsworth, and they too deserve well of their employers for the workmanlike manner in which they have carried out their part of the business. To Mr. Drew was entrusted the erection of the boiler and engine houses, the picking shop, the front walls of the main building, the fire-proof floors, and other portions of the work ; and Messrs. Cox built the huge stack, the whole of the walls from the west end right round to the back of the building, the foundations of the engine house, the various flights of stone steps, together with a smaller stack erected at the press shop and main offices about 100 yards to the west of the mill, and which is used in connection with it. The tiler and plasterer's art was executed by Mr. Burford, at Littleworth ; and our townsman, Mr. Frank Howell, has been employed to fit up the building with gas and steam pipes.
‘We have, however, digressed from the real object which caused us to pay a visit to these extensive cloth-mills, and which was none other than the formal starting and naming of the engines, which took place on Tuesday afternoon. They are a pair of horizontal thirty-five nominal horse-power engines, but really indicating no less than 400 horse-power. Each has a stroke of 4ft 6in., and is worked at the rate of 40 strokes per minute, the second-motion shaft going at the rate of 101 strokes per minute, while the piston traverses 360 feet in the same period. The fly wheel is 18 feet in diameter, and weighs of itself 22 tons, which, with the addition of spur wheel, shafts, and crank discs, is increased to 36 tons. The spur wheel is made in eight segments, and is bolted to the fly wheel, which is made in two halves. Each engine is fitted with the makers' patent piston valves, with cut-off motion, so that is independent of the other, and in case one should break down, the other might be started by itself in about ten minutes. The connecting rods are about twelve feet in length, while the diameter of the crank shaft is 12½ inches, with 15 inches in the eye of the fly wheel, and both are made of Bessemer steel. The piston rods travel right through the cylinders, and work an air-pump and condenser at the back end. The width of the crank disc is 9 inches, and the diameter of the cylinders 35 inches, the latter of which are jacketed, and will be covered with mahogany lagging with brass hoops. These engines drive an upright shaft in the tower, which in tun applies the power to the various shafts throughout the mills. The length of the bed is 42 feet, and the whole weight of the engines, including pipes and everything, is said to be from 180 to 200 tons. The engines were supplied by Messrs. Galloway, of Manchester (who also supplied two of the boilers, before mentioned) and were first fitted together in that city, and then despatched to their present situation, via Great Western Railway. The first portion of them. arrived on the 10th of March, about which time three skilful mechanics also came down to see to their erection, namely, Mr. William H. Larmouth, Mr. J. Phillips, and Mr. Ernest Tetlow. These men have been very assiduous in their labours, and now the engines are in thorough working order. The engines, we need hardly say, are of great power, there being none equal to them in the neighbourhood, and will cost the firm between £3,000 and £4,000.
‘The interesting ceremony of "Christening" the engines took place on Tuesday afternoon, Miss Strachan, niece of the senior partner, kindly officiating. All the members of the firm were present ; namely, Mr. J. G. Strachan, Mr. William Roberts, Mr. C. C. Grimes, and Mr. W. Margetson; as well as several ladies, Mr. Buckler, Mr. John Ferrabee (the engineer), the mechanics who erected the engines, and many of the employees. A bottle of champagne was suspended from the roof by means of a string, and fastened in an oblique direction, and as the ponderous fly-wheel was set in motion, Miss Strachan cut the string and the battle swung onto the wheel and was smashed, amidst a general outburst of cheering and applause; the engines receiving the very appropriate names of "Capital" and “Labour" …..’