Welcome to the web site of Mellor Archaeological Trust

The 1892 Mellor Mill fire, a CGI recreation

Chris Mann, Mannmade Productions of Mellor, tells the story of the film’s inception and development.

I was approached by the late John Hearle, then chairman of the Trust to investigate the possibility of using the latest CGI techniques (computer generated Images) to recreate the fire. I was approached by the late John Hearle, then chairman of the Trust to investigate the possibility of using the latest CGI techniques (computer generated Images) to recreate the fire.

To make the CGI as accurate a reconstruction as possible, I went back to newspaper accounts of the time which established the time of day, where the fire started, how quickly it spread and its ferocity. Consulting a software star chart established there was no moon on the night of 16th November 1892.

Contemporary new reports at "Great Mill Fire at Mellor"

Fact & Fun Day : Cancelled This Year

As a result of the ongoing uncertainty with COVID-19, this years Fact & Fun Day at the Roman Lakes in early September is cancelled.

See you all in 2021!

How it was in....2013

"2013

The long wait was over for those working behind the scenes to create the Mellor Mill Heritage Day, at the Roman Lakes. Weather forecasts had been watched as the day drew near, early in the week Sunday was predicted to be wet and windy, clouds of despair began to grow, but lifted as the day approached, and fine weather was forecast. Volunteers scanned their print-offs, when would they be needed and where? Various jobs had to be done, pop-up museum, face painting, finds washing, beer tent, bricks and nails stall and more. Gazebos erected, fingers fiddled with fittings, tables filled, chairs found and sat upon. The sun managed to break through the clouds, the good weather and the show had begun.

The flyers and posters had given some idea of the day ahead for those who came into the valley, on this Sunday in the early years of the 21st. century. But what awaited the mill hands as they traipsed to work in the gloom of an early morning two hundred years before, for their six oclock start to a fourteen hour day?

1813 or thereabouts....."

Mellor Mill 1792-1892

Shaw Cairn

Where is Mellor?

Now on the edge of Stockport in Greater Manchester, Mellor's location is historically important.

On the south-west and north-west, it is bordered by the two great rivers, Goyt and Etherow, which drain the SW Peak District and join to form the Mersey at the lowest point of Mellor.

On the east, a high ridge overlooks a valley, behind which is Kinder Scout. Three spurs, separated by brooks, project west from the ridge.