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Cooke
& Nuttalls - The Vale Paper Mill
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 Leonard
Cooke began the manufacture of paper on the site of the Vale Mills in
1862, and, after his death, the business was carried on by his son, Horace
Cooke. In 1898, Mr T.Y.Nuttall joined the firm and the mills were
completely rebuilt and equipped with new machinery. Cooke & Nuttall
Ltd were the first manufacturers in Great Britain to produce 'Kraft'
paper.
The paper mill wasn't rail-served until
some time after 1900, but the 1939 OS map (opposite) clearly shows the
network of lines which developed during that period. According to George
Harding, Station Master during the 1940s and 50s, the holding sidings to
the north-east of the station had become insufficient, and the former coal
sidings were also used for pulp trains. See the Maps page for
The mills closed in October 1983, but the
rail link had become disused before that date.
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From
1947 when it was built by Andrew Barclay of Kilmarnock (works no 2230) No
1 "Douglas" was the only locomotive in use on the C&N site.
It seems to have been preserved at Steamtown Carnforth. After the closure
of Steamtown, the loco doesn't appear to have been transferred to another
preserved railway or museum (as other exhibits were). at a recent open day
(2008), the chassis of a Barclay 0-4-0 were in out in the open. Another
website states it is indeed the former C&N loco, but whether this
means it is undergoing a rebuild or just being left to rot, it's not
possible to say.
Photo by Stan Withers |
A rare shot of "Douglas" in the headshunt opposite the
Branch platform.
Photo by Alan Castle |
"Douglas" in restored condition at Steamtown, Carnforth
c1980.
Photo by Trevor Machell |
"Douglas" still at Carnforth in 2008?
Photo by Adrian Bradshaw |
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 This
photograph shows a Cooke & Nuttall Ltd wagon which was built by the
Ince Wagon and Ironworks Co. This was one of several constructed for the
firm between 1903 and 1913.
The
wagon would have been used to supply coal to the mill rather than paper
pulp. Until the construction of the rail link to the mill, coal would have
been unloaded at the station.
A model of this wagon is currently available from Dave Brandwood from Trains
and Diecast who has a shop in Horwich.
Photograph from the
HMRS Ince Collection
More information can be found in
the HMRS publication
"Private Owner Wagons of the Ince Waggon & Ironworks Co" by A J Watts.
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 This
is the view from Blackrod, down Station Road (known locally as Tanners
Brew or simply "The Brew"). In the distance is the familiar
shape of Rivington Pike, whilst Horwich occupies the middle ground. The
chimney on the right is Blackrod Mill, with those of the the Star Bleach
Works and Vale Paper Mill on the left. The station is immediately
behind The Ridgeway Arms, which remains today. Blackrod Bypass was
yet to be built when this photo was taken.
Photograph courtesy of the
Bolton Evening News.
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FOOTNOTE
At the end of July 2006, the demolition of the remaining C&N
buildings began, to make-way for a Barratt housing development. Perhaps
the site will be commemorated in some way in the naming of the new roads,
as is often the case. Cooke Road, Nuttall Avenue anyone?  Going...
 going...
Gone!....but...
There are no houses there yet (as of Jan 2007), but the whole site seems
to have been landscaped, with a man-made path for the previously culverted
"River" Douglas meandering
through the middle...!
Further Update
- More landscaping has taken place over the last two months, and now (Mar
2007) there are houses going up on one side of the site. They appear to be
making a "feature" of the river through the middle. Presumably
the length of time taken to get to this point is due to having to clean-up
the previously industrial site. So... what's that concrete thing in the
second picture below? Answers to the usual address!
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