Mill Girls Statue Wigan Pier

Long Gone

Only two of the original four heritage sculptures remain, but their accompanying interpretation boards are all still there.



Trencherfield Mill (1907)
• This is the third mill to be built on this site in Trencher Meadow.
• It was commissioned by William Woods, a local coal, cotton and machine building entrepreneur.
• One of the country's first fire sprinkler systems, imported from America, was installed in the mill.
• Trencherfield Mill housed 60,000 ring and 24,000 mule spindles (devices for spinning yarn). The cotton spun here was taken to other mill towns to be woven.
• The Trencherfield Mill Steam Engine is the largest of its type in its original setting and with its rope race intact.
• At full steam, the engine would have produced 2,500 horsepower; enough to run machinery over five floors and the central heating system.

What's written on the left hand side of the board:

When Cotton Was King
As told by a cotton worker circa 1910

"It's hot int' mill wi' lots o' noise. On a nice day, we'll take our lunch ont' towpath an' eat snaps from't snap tins."

It's a 5.5 day week for us cotton worker; that's 12 hours a day and half day Saturday.
We've all got nimble fingers, especially the 'Piecers'. They're mainly children who nip under the spinning machines to tie the broken cotton back together.

Some of us work on the spinning machines and some on the carding machines. The mill takes a raw bale of cotton, cleans it, twists it and spins it into fine yarn.

The humidity in the mill keeps the cotton damp so it's easier to spin without snapping.

There are five floors of machinery - all powered by the Trencherfield Mill Engine.
The noise is deafening - we stuff cotton from the floor in our ears to protect them.
We communicate using 'Me-Mawing', a mixture of sign language and lip reading.

We work in our bare feet because our clogs could spark on the concrete floor and set the cotton bales alight.

"We wake early doors to the sound of the Trencherfield steam whistle. Summonin' us t'mill for another day. But as thee say - England's bread hangs on Lancashire's thread."

Interesting stuff, thank you for the info

Can’t imagine how hard they worked for five and a half days each week.

I used to complain doing 8 hours a day sat behind a computer screen.

I remember the Empress Mill in Anderton St Higher Ince when it was in full working order.
There were two double doors at the front which were left open in the Summer, and as kids we could see inside.
The noise was deafening and it was uncomfortably hot.
They really earned their money.