Lightpill Mill, Stroud
of Stroud
From the mid 17th century until c.1908, Lightpill Mill was used as a cloth mill
The oldest surviving mill building is the four-storey block furthest from the road, astride the stream, built c.1818 for Shillito Stather with later additions.
In the 19th century, parts of the mill were used for other purposes, such as pin-making, printing and dyeing.
1850 Partnership dissolve. H. M. Becher and T. Sampson, Light-pill Mill near Stroud.[1]
1853 John Edward Barnard and Co
1897 Roberts, Jowlings and Co, Lightpill Mill, Stroud.[2]
1911 Lightpill Mill was taken over by Syrolit Ltd, (Erinoid Ltd. from 1914), a plastics manufacturer, and became one of the earliest British centres of the plastics industry. The firm used a German process to manufacture a new type of plastic which was widely used for buttons and ornaments. The business expanded rapidly and employed more than 500 people by 1933.
After 1957, the firm was subject to a series of take-overs, which led to it becoming part of BP in 1965.
1960s The site was much expanded to form a very large complex stretching along the roadside towards Dudbridge.
1982 The plastics factory closed; the site was redeveloped as the Bath Road Trading Estate.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Digital Stroud