Murrays' Mills is a complex of former cotton mills on land between Jersey Street and the Rochdale Canal in the district of Ancoats, Manchester, England. The mills were built for brothers Adam and George Murray.
The first mill on the site, Old Mill, was begun in 1797, and is the world's oldest surviving urban steam-powered cotton spinning factory. After Old Mill opened, the company continued to expand and prosper, and by 1806 the complex was the largest in the world, employing about 1,000 people at its peak: Decker Mill was opened in 1802, New Mill in 1804, Little Mill in 1822, and Doubling and Fireproof Mill in 1842. The main complex formed a quadrangle surrounding a private canal basin linked under the road to the Rochdale Canal, which opened in 1804. The canal basin was used to deliver raw cotton and coal and to transport spun cotton away from the complex.
In 1898, A & G Murray became part of the Fine Cotton Spinners' and Doublers' Association Limited (FCSDA). The mill complex began to decline in the early 20th century as the canal basin was filled in and Little Mill burnt down. The mill was replaced with the earliest mill in Greater Manchester that was built to use mains electricity. The mill complex continued producing cotton until the 1950s. The mills were later leased out to other companies and in some cases allowed to fall into disrepair. Between 2000 and 2003, Urban Splash redeveloped Fireproof and Doubling Mill into offices, winning a RIBA Award. The rest of the complex underwent a £17M regeneration between 2004 and 2006 and are proposed to be used as flats and a hotel.
History
Foundation and establishment
After migrating from Scotland in the 1780s, the Murrays established themselves as manufacturers of textile machinery before moving into spinning fine yarn. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the main market for Murrays' fine spun yarn was the muslin-weaving industry in Scotland; along with McConnel & Kennedy, A & G Murray dominated the Scottish market. In 1790, Adam Murray leased land in Ancoats; in partnership with his brother George, began construction of his first mill – which was complete by about 1798. The mill was probably designed to house equipment produced by the Murray brothers themselves. First known as Union Mill, from its position on Union Street, the Old Mill was a purpose-built steam-powered spinning mill. Construction took approximately a year and millwright Thomas Lowe – who had worked on Richard Arkwright's first two factories – planned the building. It is eight storeys high and probably the first cotton-spinning factory to have been built that high. The first phase of the mill, an area of by , was built of 400,000 locally made bricks. The machinery was powered by a 12 horse power (hp), £620 Boulton and Watt steam engine.
Construction of the Murrays' second mill, Decker Mill, had begun by 1801 to the east of Old Mill. It was the same height as Old Mill and doubled the size of the complex. Decker Mill was completed in time to exploit the economic boom in the cotton trade that followed the brief peace in the war with France from 1802–1803. During its construction, the steam engine was replaced a more powerful 40 hp Boulton and Watt engine.
After the completion of the Ancoats section of the Rochdale Canal in 1804, raw materials no longer had to be moved by cart. Coal and cotton could be moved directly into the complex and there was a readily available supply of water for the steam engines from the private basin on the canal. The entrance tunnel to the basin was set 90° to the canal, with a short arm on the opposite side; and as the canal is only wide, it posed navigation problems for canal boats, which could be in length. It is possible that cargo was transferred to smaller vessels for the journey between the canal and the complex basin.
Construction of New Mill was probably completed in 1804. It measured by and as with the older mills, it was eight storeys high. It was fitted with a 45 hp steam engines from Boulton and Watt. All three mills were steam-power cotton-spinning factories.
The complex was further extended with the addition of two four-storey blocks on Murray Street and Bengal Street by 1806. These were mainly used as warehouses and offices. An entrance archway in the Murray Street block provided the only access to a central courtyard where the mills had their entrances. This meant that access to all parts of the site could be controlled.