Staveley Mill Yard
Encyclopedia
Bobbin
A bobbin is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which wire, yarn, thread or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in sewing machines, cameras, and within electronic equipment....
(spool) mill, which is now now used for a variety of different local industries, shops and other commercial ventures. It is situated in the centre of the village of Staveley, Cumbria
Staveley, Cumbria
Staveley is a village in the District of South Lakeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated northwest of Kendal where the River Kent is joined by its tributary the Gowan.-Geography:...
, just off the main street.
History
Staveley Mill was in existence before 1829 and was first known as Low Mill. The first documented owner was Thomas Taylor who was born in KendalKendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
. Taylor (along with two of his daughters) died in 1832 following an outbreak of cholera in the area. The mill was then leased to Benjamin Turton from Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. In 1850 the mill was sold to Chadwick Bros. of Eagley Mills Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. In 1897 Chadwick's Mill was bought by J. P. Coats of Paisley and was later sold to a Mr. Dean in 1900 who renamed it The Staveley Wood Turning Co. Ltd.
Edwin Brockbank, the son of a bobbin
Bobbin
A bobbin is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which wire, yarn, thread or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in sewing machines, cameras, and within electronic equipment....
turner, became manager of the mill
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
, partner in 1938 and subsequently owner in 1946. Staveley Mill Yard has remained in the Brockbank family for three generations, from Edwin to his son Roger and on to his son David, the present owner.
Kentmere Reservoir
Kentmere Reservoir
Kentmere Reservoir is a water storage facility situated in the Kentmere valley in the county of Cumbria, England. It is located 10.5 km north-northeast of the town of Windermere...
, situated north of Staveley
Staveley, Cumbria
Staveley is a village in the District of South Lakeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated northwest of Kendal where the River Kent is joined by its tributary the Gowan.-Geography:...
beyond Kentmere
Kentmere
Kentmere is a valley, village and civil parish in the Lake District National Park, a few miles from Kendal in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is historically part of Westmorland...
village, (to be recommended as an idyllic walk) was built by the mill owners to regulate the flow of the river for the benefit of mills and other industries downstream. A large water wheel
Water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...
powered the line shafting (some of which can be seen upstairs in Wilf’s Café) and under the balcony can be seen where the water was drawn off above the weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
and channelled along the race, through an archway into the building to power the wheel. In 1902 the water-wheel was replaced by a turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
.
In the 20th century, The Staveley Wood Turning Co. Ltd. switched much of its production into tool handles and was able to prosper despite the introduction of plastic reels and bobbins in the 1950s. Much of the wood used by the wood mills was imported and by the 1990s most of the market was overseas and in 1993-94 the company placed machines overseas in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Malaysia. Restructured as the Staveley Timber Company the business was mainly in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
although some packing and finishing was still carried out in Staveley
Staveley, Cumbria
Staveley is a village in the District of South Lakeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated northwest of Kendal where the River Kent is joined by its tributary the Gowan.-Geography:...
. Only ten people were then employed in Staveley, so the former coppice drying sheds and timber stores were adapted into light industrial units and shops. When the business finally closed the workers adapted and helped to redevelop the old exhausted mill buildings into more business units. There are now over 30 businesses on the site creating over 200 jobs.
There is a footbridge across the river Kent which is being replaced in 2011 to improve access for the disabled.
Current Uses
Staveley Mill Yard is currently used for a mixture industry, retail, galleries, creative studios and artisan crafts. It's industries and shops function to service both the local population and further afield and also as an attraction to visitors on their way into the Lake DistrictLake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
. It is especially known for Wilf's Cafe and Wheelbase, the UK's largest bike shop. Recent additions also include Hawkshead Brewery (a local real ale microbrewery
Microbrewery
A microbrewery or craft brewer is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, and is associated by consumers with innovation and uniqueness....
) and Organico, the UK's largest wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
shop. It is also known as the site of for art and design studios and also artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
crafts such as furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
and bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
.
There is also an emphasis on using natural resources at Staveley Mill Yard. For this reason the turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
which replaces the original water wheel
Water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...
is now being used to generate 10-15% of the site's energy requirements.
Details of the current businesses at Staveley Mill Yard can be found a the website: www.staveleymillyard.com