The Bancroft weaving mill was the thirteenth and last mill built in Barnoldswick.  The town was originally in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but is now administered by Lancashire County.  It was at the very edge of the Yorkshire woollen industrial centre.  Construction of the mill started in 1915, but was delayed by the Great War, and only finished in 1920.  James Nutter had died in 1914, but the firm was carried on by his sons, and the ceremonial starting of the mill engine took place on 13th March 1920, when James’ surviving daughter, Eliza, opened the stop valve to set the engine in motion.  The engine cylinders were then formally named “James” and “Mary Jane” after her parents.

The mill featured some of the latest construction and engineering standards of the time and produced electricity via a large DC dynamo for lighting and power to the pumps.  There was also a room in the cellar which housed storage batteries.  One of the Nutter sons lived in the family house not far from the mill, and a cable was laid to provide electric current for lighting the house.  At least one, and possibly two other houses, were also supplied with current.  The mill ran without interruption for 58 ½  years producing high quality cotton cloths until, in December 1978, when the last orders were woven out, the mill closed.  The buildings and machinery were then sold for demolition and scrap, with a plan to level the whole site and cover it with houses.

Very much at the 11th hour, proposals were put forward to Pendle Council by a group of interested people, to preserve at least some of the mill, namely the engine in its house, boilers and boiler houses, and the chimney.  The Bancroft Mill Engine Trust was formed by voluntary members as a registered charity.  By that time the weaving shed, looms, warehouse and some other buildings had been demolished, and the mill lodge was filled in.  The remaining buildings and their contents were provided to the Trust by Pendle Council and the English Tourist Board.  So far as the machinery was concerned, all of the fittings from the Lancashire and Cornish boilers had been taken for scrap, and much of the brass-work on the engine was stripped out.  A local steam enthusiast happened to see what was happening and made the demolition men an offer they couldn’t refuse for the brass-work!  After the Trust was formed, he gave the brass-fittings back to the mill.

 There followed a three year period during which the members had very limited access to the site, and all the machinery was quickly deteriorating.  On 23rd October 1981, the keys were formally handed over to the Trust, and work started to clean up the site and to remove the considerable surface rust from the engine and other machinery.  All the fittings for the two boilers were obtained from other defunct boilers of similar type, including those from a Cornish boiler in Cornwall.  One member memorably remarking that all the fire-bars had passed between his wife’s legs!

The internals of the engine had luckily been well lubricated when it had last stopped, and seemed to be in good condition.  So after four months of hectic work and trials during the winter by members and interested groups and companies, the Museum opened its doors and the engine was successfully steamed again, this time for the public, on 3rd April 1982.  The prime objectives of the Trust had been achieved, although there was much work in store for the future.  The engine has been steamed every summer season since that time – although, it has to be said, sometimes on a wing and a prayer!

Since those early days, much has been achieved and there are many plans for the future growth of the Museum.  In 1991 funding was received from Pendle Council, English Heritage and the Countryside Commission, for the creation of a new floor over the old boiler house coal store, to accommodate the Lancashire looms.  A steel walkway and stairs was also constructed along the side of the Lancashire boiler, and interpretation panels made for the whole of the Museum.  Later, a proper viewing platform was made for the Cornish boiler.  In 1996, a successful application was made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for money to make urgent repairs and refurbishment to the Cornish boiler, the boiler house roofs, the engine house roof and walls, and the chimney.  The Cornish boiler was in a particularly bad state.  It dates from 1912, and had been bought second-hand by the mill in the 1930’s, for space heating and ancillary steam work.  In 1995 it had sprung a leak which stopped any running of the engine for a month or so, until the insurance company allowed a temporary repair so that the engine could continue in steam to the end of the season.  The whole of the underside of the shell needed replacing, plus welded repairs to the ends and the fire-tube.  The roof of the boiler house was in a worse condition than was thought, which also applied to the foundations and flue of the Cornish boiler.  Because of this, more funding had to be applied for, and was granted by the HLF and assisted by Lancashire County Council and Pendle Council.  The mill chimney was attended to by the late Fred Dibnah, who made and fitted 17 new iron bands to the stack, and carried out re-pointing.  In Fred’s own words, “It’ll be like a bloody woman in a bloody corset”.

In 2003, the Trust undertook to store a tandem steam engine from a local Craven mill, which was in danger of being scrapped.  Shortly after, a plan was formulated to erect the engine in the garage building at Bancroft Mill and eventually to run it in steam as an added attraction.  Unfortunately, the engine is too long for the building, and an extension is necessary.  More applications to funding bodies and planning officials took place, with the result that the Trust has been granted £30,000 towards the work so far, for the extension which is Phase1 of the project.  Phase2 will involve more funding to make foundations and erect the engine.  Phase3 will involve fitting two arched windows (to fit in with the main engine house arched window) to the front of the building, electric lighting, steam supply and full interpretation.  It is strongly felt by the Trust that further expansion of the Museum and more artefacts for the public to see, is the only way to attract more visitors, and to secure the long-term future of the Trust.

text & images © 2007 Bancroft Mill Engine Trust