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Ladysmith Street, OLDHAM, OL8 4NL

There are still many of these "Corrie" type lanes in Oldham but they usually have gates on them. I shot this through the bars of the gate. This is a little Boer War enclave that is centred on Durban Mill (q.v.). All the streets have Boer War connections.

The streets in this area are named after Boer War locations and even the Mill is Durban Mill. The subject is centred on the tree that still survives and the street immediately to the left is Kimberley Street. In the distance the chimney belong to Brook No. 2 Mill that is seen either side of the tree. Both these mills have been demolished and there are new houses on the Durban Mill Site and the Oasis Academy on the Brook No. 2 Mill site.

This mill was built in 1905 by the Durban Mill Co Ltd. The architect was PS Stott and its 120,000 spindles were powered by a magnificent Yates & Thom horizontal four cylinder triple expansion engine of 1750 horsepower. The mill ceased production in 1962 and was re-occupied in 1967 as a mail order warehouse. There is a new housing development on the site now. George Watkins took a superb photograph of the engine and published in The Stationary Steam Engine, David & Charles, 1968. The cylinders all had Corliss valves, the high pressure was 28" bore, the intermediate pressure 39" bore and the two low pressure cylinders 43" bore all with a stroke of 5'. The flywheel was about 26' diameter (a typical size) and grooved for 38 cotton driving ropes that sent power to all floors of the mill. The engine took steam at 180 pounds per square inch from four Lancashire boilers, ran at about 72 revolutions per minute and was apparently overloaded up to 2200 horsepower on occasion. It was a long engine with ample space between the cylinders and the air pumps operated by piston tail rods behind the engine. Ladysmith Street leads off to the right and the photographer is stood on Pretoria Road. The street names and even the mill name all reflected Boer War connections.

1905 spinning mill. I've got better but I've chosen this because it illustrates the surviving lodge (pond for condenser cooling water). These have largely disappeared as they are no longer required and they pose a drowning hazard. The magnificent engine house is also to the fore. This housed a magnificent Yates and Thom horizontal four cylinder triple expansion engine (it means something to somebody).

Only the open space and the houses survive from this 2006 image. The mill and the chimneys have gone. On the right hand side the chimney belongs to Brook No. 2 Mill that is just seen on the right hand edge. Brook No. 2 Mill has been replaced by Oasis Academy. The scene is dominated by Durban Mill with its truncated chimney behind. This mill was built in 1905 by the Durban Mill Co Ltd. The architect was PS Stott and its 120,000 spindles were powered by a magnificent Yates & Thom horizontal four cylinder triple expansion engine of 1750 horsepower. The mill ceased production in 1962 and was re-occupied in 1967 as a mail order warehouse. There is a new housing development on the site now.