Quarry Bank Mill
14th March 2018
Learning came to life for Year 6 during an exciting visit to the River Bollin and Quarry Bank Mill in Styal. The girls were able to see for themselves how a river forms a meander, study the depth and speed of flow of the water and use nets to dip for creatures. Everyone enjoyed wading in to get a closer look! We then studied the position of the mill in relation to the river and the surrounding countryside and speculated on what life must have been like for the people who lived and worked at Quarry Bank 200 years ago. We were soon to find out for ourselves how the apprentices, often recruited from workhouses in Manchester, Liverpool and London, were very fortunate compared to mill workers in the cities, due to the comparative kindness of their master, Mr Samuel Greg. Whilst they worked very long hours in humid, noisy conditions and were in danger of being injured whilst scavenging cotton waste from under the moving machines, they at least had pleasant surroundings and plenty of fresh, homegrown food. The girls experienced the schoolroom, the dormitory where beds needed making and chamber pots emptying, the medical room (including live leeches!) and the kitchen with its pan of cold lumpy porridge. Everybody had a wonderful day and gained lots of inspiration for their essays on “The Ghost in the Mill” for the ISA essay competition.
