Lister Mills
Lister Mills (otherwise known as Manningham Mills) was the largest silk factory in the world.[1] It is located in the Manningham district of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and was built by Samuel Cunliffe Lister to replace the original Manningham Mills which had been destroyed by fire in 1871.[2] The mill is a Grade II* listed building, built in the Italianate style of Victorian architecture.[3]
Lister Mills
Silk mill
1873
Andrews and Pepper
Manningham Mills
- 14 June 1963
- 9 August 1983
History[edit]
On completion in 1873, Lister's was the largest textile mill in the north of England. Floor space in the mill amounts to 27 acres (11 ha), and its imposing shape remains a dominant feature of the Bradford skyline. The chimney of the mill is 249 feet (76 m) high, and can be seen from most areas of Bradford. It cost about £10,000 to build, and its total weight has been estimated at 8,000 long tons (8,100 t). Samuel Lister called it "Lister's Pride".[4] Until the arrival of electric power in 1934, the mill was driven by steam engines. Every week the boilers consumed 1,000 tons of coal brought in on company rail wagons from the company collieries near Pontefract. Water was also vital in the process and the company had its own supply network including a large covered reservoir on-site (now in 2006 that area is a piazza and underground car park).
At its height, Lister's employed 11,000 men, women and children – manufacturing high-quality textiles such as velvet and silk. It supplied 1,000 yards (910 m) of velvet for King George V's coronation and in 1976 new velvet curtains for the President Ford White House. During the Second World War Lister's produced 1,330 miles (2,140 km) of real parachute silk, 284 miles (457 km) of flame-proof wool, 50 miles (80 km) of khaki battledress and 4,430 miles (7,130 km) of parachute cord.[1]
A strike in 1890–91 at the mill was important in the establishment of the Independent Labour Party which later helped found the modern-day Labour Party.