OSWALDTWISTLE MILLS FOUNDER PETER HARGREAVES SHARES MEMORIES AS THEY APPROACH THEIR 200-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Oswaldtwistle Mills, the popular and award-winning shopping village, has a very long history in the local area. Originally a cotton weaving mill since 1824, with hundreds of looms and workers, the mill produced cotton exported all over the world until the closure of the weaving sheds in the early 1990s. Peter Hargreaves then oversaw the rebirth of Oswaldtwistle Mills into the huge shopping complex we see today.

Peter, who reached the grand age of 90 at the end of last year, has deep family connections to James Hargreaves, the inventor of the Spinning Jenny, and has traced his family back many generations. He said, “The Hargreaves family has been involved with running the mill since 1874, and we’re very proud of our heritage. we managed to trace the family back to 1050, when my 30th great great grandfather, Richard de Noers, was a steward to King William I. We’re 14 generations ago, but we’re actually linked to James Hargreaves’s brother.

The full house was £50, and the line was £25, which was more than an average wage.

“In the 1950s and ’60s, it became very difficult to attract weavers, so we opened a hairdressing salon at the side of the weaving shed with two hairdressers. We organised Bingo, where every member of staff had a Bingo card, and a new number drawn out every morning and every afternoon. The full house was £50, and the line was £25, which was more than an average wage.

“We had a very strong sports and social club with football and cricket teams, netball and table tennis teams, and they organised events right throughout the year. However, in 1970, the competition from cheap imports meant that we had to close 670 Lancashire looms, and I had the task of speaking to 120 employees to tell them they were going to lose their jobs.

“Then from 1 mill and 37 members of staff, the company increased to 5 mills and 536 staff with overseas companies in the United States, Denmark, France, and Northern Ireland. Probably in 2008, again, due to the competition from imports, we had to change the business from 5 mills and 536 staff to one mill and 54 staff and become a sales and marketing company and importer of textiles.

“My main memories were taking a 30-inch square aerial photograph of Britannia Mill to lunch with NatWest Bank and persuading them to provide the funds to buy the mill and machinery. And then later, going to the House of Commons with the local MP and seeing the Minister for Trade and Industry and obtaining a grant to buy Woodnook Mill. Then a call out of the blue from our Danish customer saying, “Would you like to buy us?” and moving all their looms and machinery to England.

“We met South Boston Council in Virginia and presented a video and they gave us Talbot Mill free of charge. We took on the previous owner and his wife and two sewing machinists, and within four years, they’d expanded to 40 staff and made over a million dollars during the year.

It’s a real family environment – Barbara on reception used to work on the looms…

“Buying Taylor’s Toiletries for £3,000 and renaming it the Bubble Factory, selling washing up liquid, bleach and toilet rolls is how we started up the Oswaldtwistle Mills Shopping Village and Garden Centre. One of my favourite memories is flying to Chicago, travelling through a snowstorm with 6 foot drifts at the side of the road and persuading Yankee Candles to come and open the first store in the United Kingdom!”

Nick Pitman, current Managing Director at Oswaldtwistle Mills, said: “Peter and his family have been involved with Oswaldtwistle Mills for generations, and I’ve worked here since I was 16. It’s a real family environment – Barbara on reception used to work on the looms, so a lot of us have a long history with the building.

“We’re grateful to take it forward now as custodians, and ensure generations to come enjoy it just as much as we have. Peter and his family have a wonderful collection of historic items from over the years including a working loom, and we hope to reopen those to the public in the near future.”

A video of Peter talking more about his history including childhood memories of World War II can be found on the Oswaldtwistle Mills website and social media.

You can see more about Oswaldtwistle Mills and their vast range of items here: www.o-mills.co.uk Oswaldtwistle Mills has plenty to see and do for all the family, based in a historic weaving mill with something for everyone, all under one roof.