This is a random bit of Lowcock’s Lemonade trivia that I discovered thanks to a site visitor (Jocelyn) who reached out to me via the contact form. I’m keeping this separate from Lowcock’s Lemonade as it seems to have a broader significance.
the Lowcock Mill: Location
Francis (Frank) Lowcock owned and operated a Hydro Electricity Mill. The Lowcock Mill was situated at the bottom of Linton Falls on the River Wharfe and took advantage of this to generate power by turbines.
The Lowcock Mill provided electricity for the villages of Grassington, Threshfield, Linton, Hebden, and Burnsall. (source: Practical Machinist).
Here’s a sketch of the position of the Lowcock Mill according to local records (no, I didn’t draw the sketch).
The Lowcock mill engine was said to be last in use in 1940 and was moved to Bradford Industrial Museum 1984 and was partially erected on temporary foundations by Feb 1988.
Thanks to Google Books, I found more specifics on the Lowcock Mill, Linton. Including that the electricity supply was 250 volts. The details are on pp273, of Kelly’s Directory of the Electrical Industry (1926). Lowock’s Mill is listed as being in Grassington, Skipton with Francis William Lowcock, Manager, and Hanson Smith as the Linton Mill Engineer.
Some Ancestry.com sleuthing suggests William’s full name was William Brayshaw Lowcock and he was born ~1832 and was married to Hannah Barker. It’s possible he is a relative, as Ancestry suggests he passed away in Australia.
the Lowcock Mill: Hydro Electricity Engine (original)
The Lowcock Mill hydro engine is reported as being a Uniflow steam engine by Newton, Bean & Mitchell of Bradford, 1921. Below is an image of the mill from the current home in Bradford.
The specifications of the engine are that it operated at 300 bhp, 150 rpm, condensing Uniflow, and was the latest type of reciprocating engine. It operated at 160psi and 600°F, had a rope drive to the main shaft of the mill, and a belt-drive to a generator. At the time of purchase, the engine cost £4,000. (source: archive.org specifically a copy of the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, Volume 71, 1999).
I do know that Francis Lowcock purchased this engine, as per this article, “the installation Mr. Francis Lowcock ordered from Newton Bean & Mitchell in September that year was based on a 300 bhp, 150 rpm, condensing Uniflow, the latest type of reciprocating engine.”
Lowcock Mill: History
I still need to do a fair bit of research on this, having found an article at archive.org that I am still deciphering. There’s an article that talks about Charles Lowcock, 41, a Tailor (based in Skipton) who in 1909 bought half of the shares of the Linton Mill from Mr. Fielden, 44.
Charles Lowcock subsequently formed the Linton Mill Estate Co. Ltd to manage it. Charles also formed the Linton Mill Manufacturing Co. Ltd with his two sons, Francis and Edward, to run a cotton manufacturing business there. Early in 1912, the Linton mill burned down and was abandoned in 1948.
Charles Lowcock, Francis Lowcock, and Edward Lowcock are all new names to me. So there’s more research to be done about them. Francis Lowcock appears to be the majority shareholder in the Lowcock Linton Mill at some point.
A reader of the website shared this with me, just not sure how it fits into the story… so sharing “as is”.
John Hanson married Ann E Lowcock, her father was George. They lived in Skipton. The water mill was at Settle.
Lowcock Mill: Today
The Lowcock Mill, as of 2012, is operational again today and is known as the Linton Mill. The Linton Mill today generates 500,000kWh of electricity a year. The mill today operates using two Archimedean screws to generate power. You can learn more about the new mill courtesy of this BBC article or this one from the York Press.
Lowcock Family History
If you would like to learn more about the Lowcock surname and family history, please visit the Lowcock History page.
You can learn more about Lowcock Genealogy, or specific Lowcock family member:
- Lowcock Plough: a type of turnwrest plough, invented by Henry Lowcock
- Lowcock’s Lemonade: a soft drink brand
- Lowcock Mill: a hydro-electric mill located in Linton, Yorkshire
- Lowcock Fuel Economiser: for fuel efficiency in steam engines
- Lowcock Razor: a straight razor, made by George Lowcock
- Lowcock Dairy: a Dairy located in Pendleton, UK.
- Lowcock Freemason: Bro. H. Lowcock, a Freemason
- Lowcock Hong Kong: Henry Lowcock, Sydney James Lowcock and the Lowcock name in Hong Kong
- Arthur Lowcock and Blackpool Tower: a director of the company that built Blackpool Tower
- Bill Lowcock: an Australian World War II veteran, I self-published his story to preserve it for future generations.
- CF Lowcock (Charles Frederick): A British painter from the Victorian/Edwardian era
- Joyce Lowcock: A playwright
- Lowcock War Memorial: pages dedicated to all those with the Lowcock surname who served.
If you are researching Lowcock Family History and can help – visit the help needed page. If you want to understand the distribution of the Lowcock surname in the UK, visit the Lowcock map page. Just interested in the images and photos? Visit the Lowcock Genealogy Pinterest page.
This page is maintained by Joshua Lowcock.