The woods in Styal surround the National Trust Property Quarry Bank Mill.
The mill was founded by Samuel Greg in 1784 in the village of Styal on the River Bollin. Its original iron water wheel was designed by Thomas Hewes and built between 1816 and 1820.
The Hewes wheel finally broke in 1904. After that the River Bollin continued to power the mill, through two water turbines. Today the Mill is home to the most powerful working waterwheel in Europe, an iron water wheel which was originally at Glasshouses Mill at Patley Bridge. This wheel was designed by Sir William Fairbairn, the Scottish engineer who had been an apprentice of Thomas Hewes.
The estate surrounding the mill, also developed by Greg, is the most complete and least altered factory colony of the Industrial Revolution. The estate and mill were donated to the National Trust in 1939 by Alexander Carlton Greg and are open to the public. The mill continued in commercial production until 1959.
The factory was founded for the spinning of cotton and by Samuel Greg's retirement in 1832 was the largest such business in the United Kingdom. The water-powered Georgian mill still produces cotton calico.
Quarry Bank Mill![400px-Quarry_Bank_Mill[1]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Quarry_Bank_Mill.jpg "400px-Quarry_Bank_Mill[1]")
The Woods
