Farnworth Weir - Farnworth
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 33.458 W 002° 23.317
30U E 540499 N 5934480
This weir on the River Croal was built for a paper mill in 1674.
Waymark Code: WMTKYM
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/07/2016
Views: 1
After this mill was built the area became heavily industrialised with other mills and coal mines. At one time the rivers round here were the most polluted in Europe.
Since the industry has declined the area has now become a country park, and the rivers have started to recover and wildlife is returning to the area.
"The site at Farnworth was influential in the manufacture and the development of papermaking, the first work being started by Robert Crompton (1667–1737). Crompton was the first in a line of men of paper. Thomas Bonsor could well be called the first papermaking tycoon and his mill at Farnworth became a showpiece for the craft, he died on 5 September 1858 and was buried in the churchyard of St John the Evangelist's Church, Farnworth. The first steam weaving mill was opened in 1828 by James Rothwell Barnes, later becoming a spinning mill. At Nob End a chemical works was founded and the whole area is riddled with old coal mine workings from shallow pits to deep shafts which have all now been capped. The mill at Farnworth passed to William James Rideout who continued the tradition of making paper until the great depression of 1883 when the mill closed and paper manufacture ceased.
In 1894, the mill was reopened as a bleach works by J. B. Champion but a few years later the mill once again stood empty. The area fell into ruin and it was not until the mill was finally demolished in 1972, that there was interest in the area as a place of recreation. Over the next decade the site was cleared and Rock Hall was transformed from a derelict building into the current visitor centre."
link
The water flow over the weir is monitored by the Environment Agency and this
website has the following information.
"Station opened December 1948 on a non-standard broad-crested mill weir 45m wide and 1.9 m long, with long downstream slope. 2.9m long with a long downstream slope in narrower river. Bend immediately upstream of weir. Weir is in good condition considering its age."