Bridge Hall Mill disaster 100 years on

One hundred years ago, on Monday 16 February 1915, Bridge Hall Mill at Heap Bridge was the scene of one of Heywood’s worst industrial disasters.

Previously one of the largest paper mills in the world, on the morning of 16 February 1915, the concrete roof of the mill collapsed and came crashing down on to between 20 and 30 men.

At the time, the men were putting the finishing touches on a 250ft wide, four storey extension when the disaster happened.

Eight men, four from Heywood and four from Bury, died as a result of the incident whilst eight others were injured – some seriously.

John Crandon, from Wilton Street, Heywood, later died of his injuries.

Two days after the incident, the county coroner opened an inquiry into the incident.

A hearing at Bury County Court heard that the company behind the build had commissioned a then new form or reinforced concrete in a bid to maximise space and reduce the amount of moisture in the building, so as not to affect the paper making process.

It also emerged that plans had not been submitted to the local authority.

The inquiry heard from roof designer Hubert Murphy of London based Rigid Concrete Company who said he believed the cause of the collapse was an error he made in the calculation of the compression of the concrete.

This meant that at the crucial point of the roof, the concrete was just 16ins thick instead of the required 32ins.

It was also reported at the inquiry that much of the concrete hadn’t properly set before props were removed and some steel bars were up to 1.5ins out of place.

A jury then found that the collapse was caused by ‘faulty design’.

The coroner summarised the verdict as ‘the building, by misadventure, collapsed inflicting mortal injuries on the men’.