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Flaxmill Maltings Timeline
- 2. In Britain andbeyond… 1771 1775 The American War of Independence starts 1770s Here and in Shropshire… c1770 Shrewsbury’s English Bridge is constructed (on site of earlier bridge) 1779 Britain’s first water-powered textile mill opens at Cromford The world’s first iron bridge is built over the River Severn, giving it’s name to Ironbridge
- 3. 1780s In Britain andbeyond… 1783 The American War of Independence ends. 1787 The Committee for Abolition of the Slave Trade is formed 1789 Here and in Shropshire… 1780’s Shrewsbury’s place as a centre for the wool trade is declining 1787 Revolution in France! The storming of the Bastille The world’s first iron boat is launched into the River Severn at Willey Wharf
- 4. Here and inShropshire… 1796 The world’s first cast iron aqueduct is built at Longdon-on-tern 1796 William Hazledine builds a state-of-the-art iron foundry at Coleham 1796-97 The Main Mill is built – the world’s first iron framed building 1797 The 17 mile Shrewsbury Canal is opened; the Flaxmill has it’s own wharf and brings in coal for the steam engines. 1797 Reynolds’ china factory opens at Coalport 1797 Shrewsbury’s last wool market is held In Britain and beyond… 1790 The world’s first steam-powered textile factory is opened 1793 Britain at war with France 1798 Rebellion against British rule in Ireland 1798 1790s Wordsworth & Coleridge publish Lyrical Ballads
- 5. Here and inShropshire… 1803 The original Cross Mill is built 1804 The Marshall, Benyon & Bage partnership breaks up; Marshall now effectively controls the business. 1805 The Warehouse is built; 3rd oldest iron- framed building in the world 1809 Charles Darwin is born in Shrewsbury In Britain and beyond… 1801–03 First sailing around Australia 1805 1807 The slave trade to Britain is abolished (but not slavery in British colonies) 1800s Nelson defeats Napoleon at Trafalgar The Benyons & Bage set up a new Flaxmill at Castlefields
- 6. 1810s In Britain andbeyond… 1811-12 1815 The corn laws are introduced: grain imports are taxed and food prices rise 1815 Wellington defeats Napoleon at waterloo Here and in Shropshire… 1811 The original Cross Mill burns down 1812 The new Cross Mill is built, partly with materials from the original; it is the 8th oldest iron framed-building in the world 1812 1816 Lord Hill’s column is built: Shrewsbury’s tribute to a hero of the Wars with the French, Rowland Hill of Hawkstone Luddite protests against textile industry mechanisation The Apprentice House on the site is built
- 7. 1820s In Britain andbeyond… 1820 King George III dies; George IV is crowned 1825 Here and in Shropshire… 1829 1820s New technology means flax can now be spun wet; production is more cost-effective but spinners work in very humid conditions The world’s first steam locomotive passenger service Born at Hawkstone in 1772, hero of Waterloo, Rowland Hill becomes Commander-in-Chief of the British Army
- 8. In Britain andbeyond… 1830 George IV dies; William IV is crowned 1832 The Great Reform Act: voting rights are extended-more men can vote 1833 The Factories Act restricts women’s and children’s working hours 1837 1838 Dickens publishes Oliver Twist 1830s Here and in Shropshire… 1835 1836 A gooseberry and carnation show is held; this will develop into The Shrewsbury Flower Show 1837 The Castlefields Flaxmill is demolished following the deaths of Benjamin and Thomas Benyon, former partners in the Ditherington Mill Victoria becomes Queen The Shrewsbury Canal is connected with the wider canal network
- 9. 1840s In Britain andbeyond… 1845 1846 Repeal of the Corn Laws: grain imports are no longer taxed Here and in Shropshire… 1842 Roland Hill (1st Viscount Hill) dies at Hadnall 1845 Flaxmill entrepreneur John Marshall dies 1848 Shrewsbury’s railway station is built Potato harvest fails in Ireland: many starve, are dispossessed of land rights, emigrate
- 10. 1850s In Britain andbeyond… 1851 1854 The Crimean War begins 1859 Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species Here and in Shropshire… 1850s 1858 The Shrewsbury-Crewe rail line is built, single-track adjacent to this site, which has it’s own sidings 1859 Dr William Penny-Brookes stages the first Wenlock Olympian Games 1859 Wroxeter Roman City is discovered The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace The Dye House and adjacent Stove House are re-built
- 11. 1860s In Britain andbeyond… 1867 Here and in Shropshire… 1862 A second track is added to the Shrewsbury-Crewe rail line, improving capacity and speed Second Reform Act: about 1/3rd of adult men can now vote
- 12. 1870s In Britain andbeyond… 1870 Women gain limited rights to keep their property after marriage Here and in Shropshire… 1875 Dawley-born Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim the English Channel
- 13. 1880s In Britain andbeyond… 1880 1881 1st home to be lit by an electric light Here and in Shropshire… 1882 1886 Marshall & Co flax-spinners ceases to trade; this site and it’s Leeds mills close and are sold Education becomes compulsory for children under 10 Shrewsbury School moves to it’s present location, on the site of the former workhouse and foundling hospital
- 14. 1890sIn Britain andbeyond… 1896 A E Housman’s A Shropshire Lad is published 1897 Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee 1897 Marconi patents radio communication device 1899 2nd Boer War in Africa Here and in Shropshire… 1896-7 William Jones buys this site and converts the building to a Maltings Main adaptations: windows blocked and reduced; steeping tanks inserted; lean-to structure alongside canal, wooden hoist tower and ironwork crown (to commemorate Queens Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee) are built 1898 The Kiln is built
- 15. 1900s In Britain andbeyond… 1901 1908 Old Age Pensions are introduced Here and in Shropshire… 1900 Coleham pumping station is built 1907 18 people are killed when a train de-rails at Shrewsbury Queen Victoria dies
- 16. 1910sIn Britain andbeyond… 1910 King Edward VII dies: George V is crowned 1911 National Insurance Act 1912 1914-18 First World War 1917 Revolution in Russia 1918 New legislation: some women can vote Here and in Shropshire… 1910 Shrewsbury Town’s football club is established at Gay Meadow 1916 Shropshire resident Mary Webb writes her first novel The Golden Arrow 1919 Ellesmere-born Eglantyne Jebb founds the charity Save the Children The Titanic sinks
- 17. 1920s In Britain andbeyond… 1924 First Labour Prime Minister: Ramsay Macdonald 1927 The BBC is created 1928 Women over 21 can now vote 1929 Here and in Shropshire… 1922 Shrewsbury’s Porthill Bridge is built 1924 Shropshire author Mary Webb writes her most famous book Precious Bane 1926 Shrewsbury’s English Bridge is widened and re-built The Wall Street Crash sparks The Great Depression
- 18. 1930sIn Britain andbeyond… 1936 The Jarrow March against poverty and unemployment 1936 1939 Second World War starts Here and in Shropshire… 1934 William Jones Maltsters Ltd went bankrupt and this site closed 1939(?)-45 The site was used as a training barracks and for the storage by the 53rd Regiment of Foot, Shropshire’s Light Infantry King George V dies; Edward VIII crowned, abdicates; marries Wallis Simpson
- 19. 1940sIn Britain andbeyond… 1940 Allied troops are evacuated from Dunkirk The Battle of Britain 1944 The Butler Act: free secondary education 1945 1948 National Health Service established Here and in Shropshire… 1944 The Shrewsbury Canal is officially closed Factory Bridge c 1955 – Image from Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust 1948 This site re-opened as a maltings, operated by Ansells Brewery and successor companiesEnd of WW2 in Europe
- 20. 1950s In Britain andbeyond… 1952 Queen Elizabeth II succeeds George VI 1958 First motorway in Britain opens 1959 Here and in Shropshire… 1951 The South Silo (nearest the site entrance) is built to store barley 1950’s The Flaxmill starts to be recognised as an important building in the history of engineering 1950’s A group of boys at Shrewsbury School start a school magazine – the forerunner of Private Eye The Mini car is launched
- 21. 1960sIn Britain andbeyond… 1961 1962 The death penalty is abolished 1965 Comprehensive education system initiated 1966 England win the World Cup 1967 Abortion and homosexuality are legalised 1969 Airliner Concorde’s first flight Here and in Shropshire… 1960 The North Silo (furthest from the site entrance) is built to store malt 1963 Telford is designated a New Town 1965 Shrewsbury’s new Market Hall is opened IMAGE – “Yellow Book” -Flickr Gagarin is the first human to voyage into space
- 22. 1970sIn Britain andbeyond… 1971 British currency is decimalised 1972 ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Londonderry 1973 Britain joins the European Economic Community 1978-9 Mass strikes: the ‘Winter of Discontent’ Here and in Shropshire… 1970’s The Maltings continues to operate, while mergers introduce structural change in malting and brewing industries 1970’s Purpose built, large scale malting and brewing facilities are constructed, making production more efficient
- 23. In Britain andbeyond… 1982 Britain at war with Argentina over The Falklands 1983 1984 Miners’ Strike in response to pit closures 1989 Tim Berners-Lee writes a paper outlining ideas that will develop into the world wide web 1980s Here and in Shropshire… 1983 The M54 is opened 1984 Dickens' A Christmas Carol is filmed in Shrewsbury 1986 Ironbridge Gorge is designated as a World Heritage Site 1987 This site closes as a maltings, continued operation having become uneconomic First mobile phone sold commercially
- 24. 1990sIn Britain andbeyond… 1990 Riots and mass demonstrations over the Poll Tax 1992 1999 Devolution of Scotland and Wales Here and in Shropshire… 1990s Successive owners/developers find themselves unable to fund conservation and development of this site 1990s Many of the Brother Cadfael novels, written by Shropshire author Edith Pargeter ('Ellis Peters') are filmed for tv The Channel Tunnel opens
- 25. In Britain andbeyond… 2001 ‘9/11’: The World Trade Centre is attacked 2001 The most recent phase of the Afghanistan War begins 2003 Britain and the US invade Iraq 2005 2000s Here and in Shropshire… 2005 English Heritage buy the freehold of this site to ensure conservation of the buildings 2007 Shrewsbury Town Football Club moves from Gay Meadow The Kyoto Protocol: a landmark climate change agreement
- 26. 2010s In Britain andbeyond… 2010 Apple launches the iPad 2010 The Arab Spring: unrest and revolution in the Arab world 2012 The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II 2012 Here and in Shropshire… 2010 onwards Shropshire Council, English Heritage and the Friends of the Flaxmill- Maltings work together to develop viable plans for the Flaxmill-Maltings site 2012 The Heritage Lottery Fund grant funds to take forward long-term proposals for the site's third century of use London hosts the Olympic Games