Lancashire Lantern

James Thomson - Primrose printing works

 

 

 

A later photograph of the mill showing the new road built in 1906

 

 

 

 

 

Ground plan of the mill dated 1815
(Click the image to enlarge)

 

 

 

A twentieth century aerial photograph of the mill
(Click the image to enlarge)

 

 

 

The images above show the development of the site. The twentieth century photograph of the mill shows the chimney and the lodges. This building was a much later structure, but it illustrates the scale of the site and the proximity of Standen Farm, in the bottom right of the photograph. The farm was usefull in providing some of the raw materials, such as cow dung for the dying process, as well as land for spreading out the cloth to bleach and dry.

Leaving cloth outside to dry was a risky business as the advert from the Blackburn Mail in 1812 below shows. The reward of five guineas was a lot of money in 1812.

The advert from the Blackburn Mail, 1812