Wigan Album
Mill Girls
1 Comment
Photo: Ron Hunt
Item #: 594
Thanks to Pete Kay who emailed the following:
"The picture entitled 'Mule Room 2' does not show a 'mule'. It is in fact a ‘ring frame'. Only men ever operated mules, as the carriage traversed back and forward and demanded a great deal of strength to operate. I believe that Taylors mill in Miry Lane, where my father was Manager in the late 20's is the location of the Mule and also the looms, and the ring frame was probably at Eckersleys or Trencherfield."
Scanned from an old postcard.
Hello,
The photo Mule Room No 2 does indeed show a Fine Cotton Spinning Mule - beneath the horizontal threads you can see the wheels of the carriage which would move in and out. The Mule itself would probably be a 1286 Spindle (1286 yarn threads) & Self Acting (Fully Automatic) mule. The headstock is located further up the room from the girl indicated by the line shafting above. Women & Girls were mainly employed as carders or weavers but in certain exceptions did indeed work on Mules. Certainly from the First World War onwards but apparently never in huge numbers as from this point onwards the Lancashire Cotton industry began to contract and the days of mass employment in it gradually began die out. The Girl in the photo may well have been a Piecer assisting the Spinner in repairing threads, oiling and doffing full cops of yarn. There is footage at museums of women & girls working on mules in some museums - possibly at Helmshore textile museum. Therefore it is likely that is a more unusual photograph of Mule workers but certainly isn't a Ring Frame which doesn't have wheels. Thanks.