Well my day started off having a job put back to tomorrow and gave me a day off!
So after arranging to meet Tom Sherman and picking him up we headed to our first site, Robert Fletchers! Upon arrival there was a flatbed truck and a pickup truck but we cracked on! We had been in around an hour and then heard loud banging and footsteps. Unsure if it was security trying to scare us but after that we heard nothing!
Things have changing and someone has been stripping scrap metal from various machines and pipes. Shame really but i hope it does not change much more . . . .
History!
The history of Fletchers as a business can be traced back to 1829 and a company called Ralph Crompton & Nephews Bleachers and Papermakers in Stoneclough. A young Robert Fletcher began working there in 1830 and was quickly promoted, becoming bleaching dept manager and eventually manager of the whole operation.
The last of the Cromptons, Roger, left Fletcher the principal trusteeship and the option of succeeding him in the company. On Crompton's death Fletcher did just this, building the business until his death in 1865 when it passed to his sons John and James Fletcher, who in turn passed it to their sons John Robert and James.
In 1897 the business was incorporated as a Ltd company, employing two hundred staff, eventually rising to around a thousand. The Stoneclough site had seven machines but produced a fraction of the eventual output of the three at Greenfield.
The Greenfield factory opened in 1921 on a site where milling in one form or another can be traced back to 1780, producing first wool then cotton.
Fletchers continued to be successful through to the late 1990's when increased pulp and energy costs combined with a financial downturn saw the business begin to struggle. In 1997 the turnover was around £17m with shareholders funds of £9m. By 1999 this had dropped to £8.2m and £4m respectively. To try to save the business the Stoneclough site was closed in 2000 with the loss of 120 jobs there but the production of 50 more at Greenfield.
This wasn't enough to save Fletchers though, in July 2001 several creditors applied for a winding up order resulting in the overnight closure of the factory.
I told Tom Sherman it was Schealed but he didn't believe me . . . . .
Chair Shot
This photo shows the bits that have been pulled from machines and the various pumps lying around . . .
Thanks for looking
So after arranging to meet Tom Sherman and picking him up we headed to our first site, Robert Fletchers! Upon arrival there was a flatbed truck and a pickup truck but we cracked on! We had been in around an hour and then heard loud banging and footsteps. Unsure if it was security trying to scare us but after that we heard nothing!
Things have changing and someone has been stripping scrap metal from various machines and pipes. Shame really but i hope it does not change much more . . . .
History!
The history of Fletchers as a business can be traced back to 1829 and a company called Ralph Crompton & Nephews Bleachers and Papermakers in Stoneclough. A young Robert Fletcher began working there in 1830 and was quickly promoted, becoming bleaching dept manager and eventually manager of the whole operation.
The last of the Cromptons, Roger, left Fletcher the principal trusteeship and the option of succeeding him in the company. On Crompton's death Fletcher did just this, building the business until his death in 1865 when it passed to his sons John and James Fletcher, who in turn passed it to their sons John Robert and James.
In 1897 the business was incorporated as a Ltd company, employing two hundred staff, eventually rising to around a thousand. The Stoneclough site had seven machines but produced a fraction of the eventual output of the three at Greenfield.
The Greenfield factory opened in 1921 on a site where milling in one form or another can be traced back to 1780, producing first wool then cotton.
Fletchers continued to be successful through to the late 1990's when increased pulp and energy costs combined with a financial downturn saw the business begin to struggle. In 1997 the turnover was around £17m with shareholders funds of £9m. By 1999 this had dropped to £8.2m and £4m respectively. To try to save the business the Stoneclough site was closed in 2000 with the loss of 120 jobs there but the production of 50 more at Greenfield.
This wasn't enough to save Fletchers though, in July 2001 several creditors applied for a winding up order resulting in the overnight closure of the factory.
I told Tom Sherman it was Schealed but he didn't believe me . . . . .
Chair Shot
This photo shows the bits that have been pulled from machines and the various pumps lying around . . .
Thanks for looking
