The Story of the Gregs

When Samuel Greg's uncle died in 1782, Samuel Greg took over his business. His uncle had been a cloth merchant. Samuel started to buy property to expand his business, but he decided that it would be more effective if all the cotton workers could work together.  For this, he would need a very large building to house them in.

Samuel Greg started to look for a fast flowing stream. He was an ingenious man and he had a great idea. If he had a fast flowing stream, he could build a head-race channel, parallel to the river. He could place a water wheel underneath this to power the mill!

He found a perfect river at Styal; the river Bollin. In 1784, Samuel Greg built the first mill at Styal.  Greg was a merchant and lacked technical expertise and so he employed Matthew Fawkner, to run Quarry Bank Mill when it opened in 1784. The mill had cost £3,000 to build and at first Greg employed 150 men to spin coarse yarn on water frames. The machines were powered by a water-mill of about 20 horse power.

Quarry Bank Mill as it is today

Quarry Bank Mill was so successful because…

• Samuel Greg came from a family that was used to finding new ways to make money.

• Samuel Greg was a serious, hard-working, energetic man who was determined to achieve a lot.

• Samuel Greg inherited the family business from his uncle.

• Samuel Greg was clever enough to find a stream where the water could flow fast enough to turn his water wheel.

Samuel Greg was religious and he was very interested in the well-being and education of the factory workers in his care. Many factory workers of the 1780s lived in dreadful conditions, but Samuel Greg built houses for them on his land. The cottages that Greg built for his workers were of a high standard. Each family (average of eight people per family) had a parlour, a kitchen, two bedrooms, a cistern and a backyard. Each cottage had a good-sized garden where they were encouraged to grow their own vegetables.

He also built an apprentice house for the children who worked in his factory. The house cost around £300 to build and housed around 90 children. His child workers were very well looked after compared to the average living standards of the day. All the houses had their own yard and privy (toilet).  But the most astonishing thing was that the children were given an education. These children often had no parents and originally came from orphanages and workhouses. 

The Apprentice House

In 1848, however, a law was passed to control the use of children and child labour.