Weaving shed
A weaving shed is a distinctive type of
History
The early textile trade relied on domestic
Function
The purpose of a weaving shed was to provide spaces for rows and rows of identical
Attached to the weaving shed in a typical mill would be a
Each thread had to pass through the correct eye in the
Construction
The early weaving sheds were simple working industrial buildings and the external materials generally used in their construction are robust and there was little in the way of ornamentation. External walls were generally in coursed rubble, stone or brick. The few openings or windows were in simple detailed timber joinery. Internal materials comprised stone flag floors, exposed cast iron structure, timber joinery and boarded partitions and lime plaster on lath soffits to the south facing roof slopes. The sheds were often built into the hillside so the wall would benefit from contact with damp earth that would maintain the moisture levels in the shed required by cotton weaving.[13]
The shed would be modular using a 3m by 6m bay, the beams of the roof being supported by cast iron columns. The ground to beam clearance was 3.5m and the ground to ridge height was 4.6m. Later sheds used a longitudinal beam under the gutter beam eliminating the need for a row of columns,[14] creating a 6m by 6m lattice. The modular nature enable sheds to infill on irregularly shaped sites.[15]
The north light roofs to the majority of weaving sheds were constructed with simple 30-degree pitched roofs, comprising a simple structure of
The gutter beams were laid flat with joints aligned over column heads. The end of each gutter section has an external flange enabling sections to be bolted together over a bracket to the head of the column. The brackets were designed to collect any resulting leak at the joint and channelled it down the inside of the hollow columns.[13] Cast iron tie rods running from the columnheads, at right angles to the gutterbeams, gave lateral rigidity. The columns were the mounting points for the lineshaft bearings.
Regional variations
Though the North Light Roof Shed predominated in Lancashire and Yorkshire, there were always variations caused by local needs. In Brazil in the southern hemisphere the south lit roof was more appropriate. Domed vault were used in Leeds, United Kingdom and Issenheim, France but were expensive to build and were dark. Flat roofs on vaults with monitor lights were chosen in Italy, parts of the United States and India because they helped to reduce the heat. Brick vaulting was used in Catalunya, and in settlements that were short of land, two-storey building were erected with the weaving below and the spinning above. Similar two-storey mills were built in 1865 in Angus, Scotland. At Salts Mill in Bradford and in Dundee the power was from below rather than above giving greater headroom while the lace mills of Nottingham and the woollen tweed mills in Roxburghshire had higher roofs to allow for overhead supervision gantries. The Tonnendach mills of central and northern Europe, used a curved broad span with raised transverse rooflights, a system patented by Sequin-Brunner of Switzerland in 1885. Wrought-iron
Restoration and reuse
By the 1980s the final weaving companies were woven out (closed),[18] and in a few cases the mills were mothballed.[19] Most however had already been converted for alternative use- and in 2010 a report was written detailing possible ways that the weaving sheds could be renovated and put to alternative uses.
The challenge lies in having 1000 m2 of top lit shed with no exterior windows, having structural columns every 3.6m. There are successful schemes which convert the shed into covered parking, and divided retail space, offices and business start up units. When part of the centre is opened up to form an inner court, the bays round the edge have been converted into a primary school, residential units and student accommodation.
See also
References
Notes
- ^ Ashmore 1982, p. 4.
- ^ Timmins 1993, p. 23.
- ^ Graham 2008, p. 4.
- ^ a b c d Graham 2008, p. 25.
- ^ Graham 2008, p. 18.
- ^ Graham 2008, pp. 118, 119.
- ^ Graham 2008, pp. 110–112.
- ^ Graham 2008, p. 67.
- ^ Graham 2008, pp. 39, 79–85.
- ^ Graham 2008, p. 32.
- ^ Graham 2008, p. 92.
- ^ Graham 2008, pp. 48, 56.
- ^ a b Pennine Lancashire 2010, p. 8.0.4.
- ^ Nasmith 1895, p. 40.
- ^ Pennine Lancashire 2010, p. 8.
- ^ Nasmith 1895, p. 38.
- ^ TICCIH 2007.
- ^ Graham 2008, pp. 243–260.
- ^ Graham 2008, pp. 263–267.
Bibliography
- Ashmore, Owen (1982), The industrial archaeology of North-west England, Manchester University Press, ISBN 0719008204, retrieved 25 June 2009
- Graham, Stanley (2008). Bancroft- The story of a Pennine mill. Barnoldswick, Lancashire. ISBN 978-1409255789. Retrieved 15 April 2013.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 1-4021-4558-6, retrieved 1 March 2009
- Timmins, Geoffrey (1993), The Last Shift: The decline of handloom weaving in nineteenth-century Lancashire, Manchester: Manchester University Press, p. 253, ISBN 0 7190-3725-5
- Pennine Lancashire (2010). "Pennine Lancashire North Light Weaving Shed Study". Preston: Design & Heritage Pennine Lancashire, Lancashire County Council. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
External links
Media related to Weaving sheds at Wikimedia Commons