One of Chadderton's
most notable figures was honoured by the unveiling of a
blue plaque on the 29th September, 2004 at Chadderton
Central Library., 'Wykeham Place', Middleton
Road. His great grandson Sir Philip Stott
performed the Ceremony in the presence of the Deputy
Mayor of Oldham Metropolitan Borough, Councillor Kay
Knox, and her consort, Councillor Jim McArdle. The
unveiling was witnessed by a founder member of the
Chadderton Historical Society, Mr Michael Lawson and its
Chairman Mr Mark Johnson.
The Stott family generally,
were to become renowned architects, mainly within the
cotton industry, the head being Abraham Henthorn Stott,
born in Crompton in 1822. By the time of his death in
1904, at the age of 82, he had founded a veritable
dynasty.
It was at Wykeham Place that
Abraham's third son, Philip Sidney was born on 20th
February 1858.
Philip Sidney's first
commission was the Chadderton Mill, on Fields New Road,
which was built in 1885 by the Chadderton Mill Co. Within
Chadderton itself, Philip Sidney was associated with nine
mills, in addition to the Chadderton Mill.
In 1884 he designed the
extension to the Stockfield Mill.
Stockfield
Mill
The year after, 1885, built
the Falcon on Victoria Street. This was to be
Chadderton's only weaving shed. He continued building
mills in Chadderton and Lancashire until
1925.
Falcon Mill
Images of mills by
permission of Arthur Chorley
In total he designed more
that 124 mills both spinning and weaving. Twenty-eight of
these
commissions were
abroad.
His career as a mill
architect had spanned over four decades. During this
period he claimed to have designed mills all over the
world, with an aggregate spindleage of no less than nine
million!
Other mills associated with Sir
Philip Sidney Stott , were the Rose Mill, Richmond Mill,
Nile Mill, the Raven Mill, Ace Mill and the Gorse Mill.
