Image ID: 22613

The William Hollins Mills at Pleasley Vale

Pleasley Vale
Pleasley
England

Pleasley Vale Mill, a textile mill, located to the north east of Pleasley Village. William Hollins & Co Ltd began in 1784 at the Pleasley Vale, the factory there became the first establishment in the world to take in raw cloth material at one end of the factory and sent out the garment, ready for sale, at the other end. William Hollins was established at The Pleasley Vale site for three basic reasons: 1. Water supply 2. The trees in the valley maintained the required humidity levels, and 3. The closeness to the main highways of the day. Labour was difficult to recruit due to the remoteness so a workhouse for child labour was established. Two mills were built but both mills burnt down in 1840's. The mill buildings in this photograph were built in the mid 19th century and replaced the earlier burnt Georgian buildings. When they were re-built, steam driven machinery was introduced. This mill later developed the Viyella cloth. They won large contracts from the government to provide cloth during the Second World War. William Hollins & Company still manufactures clothes under the Viyella brand. The Hucknall, Nottingham-based company is a subsidiary of Coats Viyella.

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Keywordsmillriverrailwaychimneyweirindustrial

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