Description and History of Site:-
Ward described the site as:-

Samuel Blagborough and Joseph Holroyd bought a close of land and a house in Mabgate from Hannah Crood in 1791, on which they proceeded to erect a cotton mill, powered by the flow of Stoney Rock Beck. The mill cost £2,000 to develop, the money being raised by a mortgage to J.Lucas in 1791. By 1795 it was valued for insurance purposes at £2,300, with a further £1,000 worth of stock. In 1795 the water wheel was scrapped in favour of a 20 h.p. Boulton & Watt steam engine, and by 1191 they had 2,000 spindles in operation. Blagborough was bankrupted by his other activities in 1805 and he sold his share to John Holroyd and the firm became J.& J.Holroyd. The company had paid £30 in rates in 1800. About 1806 the firm moved their business to Manchester and the mill was let out, the occupants by 1818 being J.& S.Shann, cloth dressers, who insured its contents for £1,600 in 1820. They remained until 1828 when they moved to Aire Street Mills. They had a 24 h.p. Boulton & Co. engine in 1824, and were for a time the only cloth dressers by powered machinery (i.e. gig-mill). For the next four years the mill was occupied by James Pearson, woollen manufacturer, previously of Skinner Lane, who insured stock worth £2,000 in 1830. In 1833 the 3,120 sq.yds. and the mill were bought by John Morfitt, a bleacher of Cookridge, from Holroyd's devisees. He turned it into a flax mill, with 4,000 spindles at work by 1839. A further purchase of land (844 sq.yds.) in 1841, and one of 645 sq.yds. from A.Lupton in 1844, enabled Morfitt to almost completely rebuild the mills. Morfitts continued in occupation until c1870 when the mills were entered by Wadsworth, Binns & Co., woollen manufacturers. They remained until 1883 at which time the property was valued at £9,381, of which £878 was for a reservoir and land. There were two mills, an engine house and a press shop, and a 60 h.p. beam engine. The reservoir covered 1,437 sq.yds.The mills were let to many firms thereafter, initially cloth manufacturers and finishers, later clothing and footwear manufacturers. W.Albrecht &Co., wholesale clothiers, were one of the tenants in 1896.

Notes from George Ingle
Samuel Blagborough, John Holroyd & Joseph Holroyd insured this mill in 1793 for £4,000. First steam engine replaced with B & W 20 hp engine in 1796. Mill leased to Crabtree & Green in 1810. Cotton spinning stopped in 1816.

Further Reading and References:-
Colum Giles and Ian H Goodall for the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 1992 Yorkshire textile mills: the buildings of the Yorkshire textile industry 1770-1930
Ward, M F. Industrial development and location in Leeds north of the River Aire, 1775 to 1914. PhD Thesis, University of Leeds, 1972.
Ingle G Yorkshire Cotton 1997
Boulton & Watt Portfolio 254

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Key Words :- textile mill cotton woollen cloth dressers

Viewing the Site :- Can be viewed from the public highway

Address :- Mabgate, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS9 7DZ
Grid Ref :- SE 3110 3417
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.802905 , Long -1.529271
Local Authority :- Leeds Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Site refurbished to industrial / commercial use
Contributor :- John Suter - 3 December 2015

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © John Suter