Archaeological Archive for Macintosh Mill

Archaeological archive for Macintosh Mill 1, consisting of project design documents, archaeological excavation report, primary fieldwork records, annotated plans, plan and section indexes, photographic record, electronic media and plans.

Macintosh Mill 1 was built in 1825, to capitalise on the discovery of a method of manufacturing a double-texture waterproof fabric by the Scottish chemist and inventor, Charles Macintosh. This was the first application of rubber to command a mass sale and, as such, constitutes the genesis of the English commercial rubber industry. Macintosh Mill 1 was the first of a series of mill buildings within the Chorlton-on-Medlock area that was built for the production of rubber, which, by the late nineteenth century, dominated this important industrial sector of Manchester. The archaeological excavation exposed the foundations of Macintosh Mill 1, and found them to be extensive and in very good condition. Moreover, whilst there are several contemporary detailed cartographic representations of the mill, the excavation has furnished important new information, and has provided an accurate plan of previously unrecorded structures.