I first came found a reference to a blacking mill in Adlington in 2010, when Adlington parish records told me that my great-grandfather's family were living on 'Blacking Mill Lane' in Adlington in 1898 . Eventually, I found Blacking Mill Lane, which is now Harrison Road in lower Adlington, but I found almost no information on the blacking mill that it was named after.
A blacking mill was used to grind charcoal into a fine powder which was used for the dusting of moulds in foundries, which would impart a good skin on castings. It was also used in the manufacture of lamp black, or used to make shoe polish.
The blacking mill in Adlington existed as early as 1821, as shown in the Baines & Parson Directory. Peter Eastwood is named as a manufacturer of charcoal blacking and coal dust.
Peter continued until at least 1834, by which time he had a chemical works (possibly on the same site) where he was manufacturing mordant, which is a substance used to set dyes on fabrics. By the 1841 census, it appears that Peter was absent and his son John is running the business. In late 1842, Peter Eastwood was forced to sell his business in order to pay his debts, and instead became a dealer in oven grates, hoop-irons and boat washers.
On the 1845 map of Adlington, the road which is now called Harrison Road is named Smithyfield Lane on account of the nearby field which was named 'Smithy Field'. Smithyfield Blacking Mill as it is labelled, is just before Red House Bridge. It is built close by the River Douglas, which suggests that it might have been water powered.
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| 1845-9 Ordnance Survey map of Adlington. The blacking mill buildings are in red. |
By 1848, it had been taken over by Thomas Marsh. By 1861, the road had changed its name from Smithyfield Lane to Blacking Mill Lane, and William Noble, a 'chemist' is living in a building referred to as 'Old Blacking Mill'. However Thomas Marsh was still running the blacking mill - perhaps he had built new premises?
In Slater's trade directory in 1869, John Marsh (perhaps a son or brother of Thomas Marsh?) is listed as a mordant and moulders blacking manufacturer in Lower Adlington. Around the same time, the Lancashire Union Railway had been built over a field that was owned by the blacking mill, directly next to where the premises stood. Presumably the Smithy Field, including the blacking mill building, was sold to the railway corporation.
By the 1871 census, there had been building in the surrounding area, as 'Blacking Mill Field' now had around twenty houses. This seems to be the start of the rows of terraced cottages in the surrounding area. There is no trace of the blacking mill on this census, or any after it.
By the 1881 census, there are around fifty-five houses, and the layout of the streets is pretty much that of the 1894 map (below). By the 1891 census, Hanson Street, Hatton Street and Dewhurst Street exist over where the blacking mill used to stand.
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| 1894 Ordance Survey map of Adlington |
As late as 1928, the road was still called 'Blacking Mill Lane'. It is now named 'Harrison Road' presumably named after the farm on the other side of the canal.