Well folks, this is my last ever blog post as I leave Quarry Bank for pastures new, and I have decided to end my tenure as blog creator & editor by returning once more to one of my favourite stories from the archive; the romance of Robert Hyde Greg and Mary Phillips, and I warn…
Tag: Samuel Greg
“Sorrow & succeeded dependence…bind us closely together” – life after Hannah Greg
I’ve been burying myself in the archive in the run up to Christmas and these first few days of 2015, working my way through a wonderful set of letters that have entered the archive on an indefinite loan. The loan includes letters, photos, and post cards belonging to the Greg family, and were in the…
Christmas with the Apprentices
Last year the cataloguing team found a series of letters relating to Robert Hyde Greg and his family at Christmas. It made me think about the very different Christmas that was happening at the Apprentice House. Christmas was without a doubt the best day of the year for the apprentices, who worked six days a…
“You have a very good raw material to work upon” – brotherly advice to Robert Hyde Greg
Last year I shared a letter with you from Robert Hyde Greg, expressing his joy to his new fiancée, Mary Philips, that she had accepted his offer of marriage. The archive volunteers later found a letter from his father Samuel Greg, describing his delight for his son, and advising the couple not to worry about…
‘Turns out it was probably part of a cupboard…’
Back in July I got an excited phone call from Ally: “Hello! I think you need to come over the Archive, we’ve received a really interesting donation!”. I arrived in the archive to find Ally, and our then Oral History intern Sarah, heads bowed over the table examining the mystery item, which turned out to…
Children of The Mill by David Hanson
To accompany the second series of The Mill, a book has been released which explores the lives of the apprentices at Quarry Bank, from the beginnings of the apprentice system in the 1790s, to its end in 1847. The book is called Children of The Mill, by David Hanson. Back in July we held a…
The Mill Series 2 – interviews with Kerrie Hayes, Andrew Lee Potts and Matthew McNulty
Have you been enjoying The Mill on Channel 4? Who’s your favourite character at the moment? Whilst they were filming here at Quarry Bank, the National Trust managed to grab some one-on-one time with some of the cast and find out what their thoughts were on their characters and on Series 2. Warning – the…
Accidents at Quarry Bank Mill – The Mill Series 2 Episode 2
In Episode 2 of The Mill we see Jack Howlett nearly reach a horrific end, when his head is almost crushed between the draw frame and the back plate of the spinning mule. Luckily for Jack, his father John Howlett in an act of superhuman strength brings the mule to a stop by grabbing the…
The Mill Series 2 – William Greg
Sunday night saw the introduction of another member of the Greg family in The Mill; William Greg, played by Andrew Lee Potts. In the first episode we learn that William has taken over the running of Quarry Bank Mill, whilst his elder brother, Robert Hyde Greg, is in Manchester acting as an MP to fight…
Mapping out The Mill Series 2
The Mill returns to our screens tonight on Channel 4 at 8pm. The second series includes some new locations, most prominent being Styal Village. For me, and for those of you who know the site well, it’s easy to reconcile the distances we see the workers walking in the series from their cottages to the…
The finest picture of Devoted, tender and faithful attachment…
Around this time last year I found myself battling with what I called the “stickiest tape I have ever come across in my life” (and I stand by that statement), whilst installing our ‘Lady of Letters‘ exhibition, to complement the release of David Sekers’ book ‘A Lady of Cotton, Hannah Greg, Mistress of Quarry Bank…
Through the Keyhole in Styal Village
A couple of weeks ago I gave you a behind the scenes look inside Quarry Bank House, and we all saw how the other half lived as it were. Well today, I had to go into No. 13 Oak Cottage, in Styal Village, known to us at Quarry Bank as the ‘pickled cottage’. I thought…
