Celebrate Heywood’s mill town heritage in the ‘Mill de Gras’ blaze of glory

PossAbilities is hosting a mardi gras style event - Mill de Gras

A mardi gras carnival celebrating Heywood’s mill town heritage will take place at the Cherwell Wellbeing Hub on Saturday 5 August.

The ‘Mill de Gras’ will feature a mill town brass band along with a New Orleans jazz band in a carnival and parade with floats telling the stories of Heywood’s mill town heritage, historic vehicles, walkers and banners, plus a barbecue, licensed bar and craft stalls.

The idea came about after social enterprise PossAbilities, which is based at the hub, remodelled its garden and a visiting member of the public mentioned how the garden was once a reservoir for a mill. The social enterprise thought nothing of it until it built some apartments next to the garden.

Cellars of old mill workers’ cottages were discovered, and old maps showed that the building was the site of a large cotton mill known as Peel Mills. The mill was built in 1891 and demolished in 1937.

Malcolm McClean, business development consultant at PossAbilities CIC, said: “Most of the cotton processed in the mill came from America’s Deep South, such as Louisiana.

“In wanting to celebrate our mill town heritage, it was suggested we host a carnival – and where is the best carnival in the world? Of course, it’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. So what better way to celebrate our connection than to do a mill town celebration, New Orleans style. That’s Mill de Gras!

“Just as the folk at Peel St Mill imported cotton from Louisiana and transformed it into something vibrant, today we can import their Mardi Gras and give it a mill town twist.

“Let’s add a splash of colour to the traditional mill worker iconography: kaleidoscopic clogs, funky flat caps, colourful cotton, sparkling spindles, and sassy sackcloth.

“Here’s a chance to paint the town red and orange, and yellow and whatever colours you like. Let’s celebrate our heritage in a blaze of colour.

“It’s a chance to dress up and dance; to out-funk your neighbours; and be proud of who we are and where we came from. Great things happened here in the days of the mills; let’s shout about it and show that great things still happen here and will do in the future.”

Over the last year, PossAbilities has been exploring the mill's heritage and the people who worked there after being selected by Historic England to be one of only 40 Working Class Histories projects.

Stories uncovered include that of the entrepreneurial Kay family, the lifestyle of the mill owners and the workers, the ups and downs of the business, numerous tragedies including the drowning of a three-year-old boy in the reservoir, an embezzlement case, a World War, the decline of the business, and the felling of the chimney in front a crowd of 10,000 people.

For more information about the Mill de Gras, please visit: www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/73147/events-in-rochdale/mill-de-gras-carnival