Cambridge Street, The Macintosh Factory

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 28 Oct 2013

The most well-known of the Chorlton Mills was Charles Macintosh's Mill on the west side of Cambridge Street. The first mill was built in 1814 and had six storeys and two basements with 20 loading bays along Cambridge Street. It was owned by Hugh Birley, infamous for his involvement at the Peterloo Massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterloo_Massacre . In the 1860s the mill was sold to Charles Macintosh & Company who produced rubberised waterproofs. The word macintosh or ‘mac’ later became a generic term for waterproof overcoats. Soon after World War One the factory was taken over by the Dunlop Company. The original factory on Cambridge Street was demolished but the second and third phases of the factory located along Hulme Street still exist. The octagonal chimney was built in 1851 but actually belonged to the Chorlton Mill across Cambridge Street from the Dunlop factory and connected by an underground flue. During the mid-nineteenth century, this area, then known as “Little Ireland”, was one of Manchester’s worst slums; today, like many of Manchester’s old industrial buildings, these fireproof mill buildings have been converted into apartment blocks (http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/tours/tour7/area7page9.html Manchester History Net). The building is Grade II –listed (English heritage ID:388200 http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-388200-former-cotton-mill-on-east-side-of-junct British Listed Buildings).

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