page_title: Murrays' Mills
section_title: Foundation and establishment
hierarchical_section_title: Murrays' Mills / History / Foundation and establishment
caption_attribution_description: The bricked up entrance to Murrays' Mills canal basin on the Rochdale Canal
context_page_description: Murrays' Mills is a complex of former cotton mills on land between Jersey Street and the Rochdale Canal in the district of Ancoats, Manchester, England. The mills were built for brothers Adam and George Murray.
  The first mill on the site, Old Mill, was begun in 1797, and is the world's oldest surviving urban steam-powered cotton spinning factory. After Old Mill opened, the company continued to expand and prosper, and by 1806 the complex was the largest in the world, employing about 1,000 people at its peak: Decker Mill was opened in 1802, New Mill in 1804, Little Mill in 1822, and Doubling and Fireproof Mill in 1842. The main complex formed a quadrangle surrounding a private canal basin linked under the road to the Rochdale Canal, which opened in 1804. The canal basin was used to deliver raw cotton and coal and to transport spun cotton away from the complex.
  In 1898, A&G Murray became part of the Fine Cotton Spinners' and Doublers' Association Limited. The mill complex began to decline in the early 20th century as the canal basin was filled in and Little Mill burnt down. The mill was replaced with the earliest mill in Greater Manchester that was built to use mains electricity.
context_section_description: After migrating from Scotland in the 1780s, the Murrays established themselves as manufacturers of textile machinery before moving into spinning fine yarn. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the main market for Murrays' fine spun yarn was the muslin-weaving industry in Scotland; along with McConnel & Kennedy, A & G Murray dominated the Scottish market. In 1790, Adam Murray leased land in Ancoats; in partnership with his brother George, began construction of his first mill – which was complete by about 1798. The mill was probably designed to house equipment produced by the Murray brothers themselves. First known as Union Mill, from its position on Union Street, the Old Mill was a purpose-built steam-powered spinning mill. Construction took approximately a year and millwright Thomas Lowe – who had worked on Richard Arkwright's first two factories – planned the building. It is eight storeys high and probably the first cotton-spinning factory to have been built that high. The first phase of the mill, an area of 105 feet (32 m) by 42 feet (13 m), was built of 400,000 locally made bricks. The machinery was powered by a 12 horse power (hp), £620 Boulton and Watt steam engine.
  Construction of the Murrays' second mill, Decker Mill, had begun by 1801 to the east of Old Mill. It was the same height as Old Mill and doubled the size of the complex. Decker Mill was completed in time to exploit the economic boom in the cotton trade that followed the brief peace in the war with France from 1802–1803. During its construction, the steam engine was replaced a more powerful 40 hp Boulton and Watt engine.
  After the completion of the Ancoats section of the Rochdale Canal in 1804, raw materials no longer had to be moved by cart. Coal and cotton could be moved directly into the complex and there was a readily available supply of water for the steam engines from the private basin on the canal. The entrance tunnel to the basin was set 90° to the canal, with a short arm on the opposite side; and as the canal is only 14 feet (4.3 m) wide, it posed navigation problems for canal boats, which could be 70 feet (21 m) in length. It is possible that cargo was transferred to smaller vessels for the journey between the canal and the complex basin.
  Construction of New Mill was probably completed in 1804. It measured 193 feet (59 m) by 46 feet (14 m) and as with the older mills, it was eight storeys high. It was fitted with a 45 hp steam engines from Boulton and Watt. All three mills were steam-power cotton-spinning factories.
  The complex was further extended with the addition of two four-storey blocks on Murray Street and Bengal Street by 1806.  These were mainly used  as warehouses and offices.  An entrance archway in the Murray Street block provided the only access to a central courtyard where the mills had their entrances. This meant that access to all parts of the site could be controlled.
  By 1806, the Murrays' Mills was the largest mill complex in Manchester and the world.  With 84,000 mule spindles the complex was huge compared to others at the time, most of which had less than 10,000 spindles. The status of the complex was reflected in the amount of ornamentation on the Murray Street and Bengal Street blocks compared to other mills.  The Murray Street block had a symmetrical arrangement of arched doorways and windows.  This pattern was in turn mirrored on the Bengal Street block, which had an arrangement of false doorways.
  A & G Murray prospered during the early 19th century, and in 1809 the firm was valued at £20,456: 13% more than their nearest rival, McConnel & Kennedy, and more than double the firm in third place. The company was "one of the largest cotton-spinning firms in Manchester, and probably the country". By 1815, it employed 1,215 people.
caption: The bricked up entrance to the basin on the Rochdale Canal, which shows the tight angle for navigation
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