One of the important reasons Greg chose the site is because of the transport links. The bridge water canal would provide easy shipping of cotton near to the mill, then the last few miles would have to be done by horse and cart. Manchester is close to Styal, this is good because Manchester was one of the biggest industrial cities and this would provide Greg with workers and raw materials. Liverpool is relatively close to Styal.
Geographical factors also played a part in the choosing of the Styal location because on that land the river Bolin flowed through. Greg used the river Bolin as a power source for his mill and the machinery. Arkwrites water frame was invented to use the water to drive the wheel and drive lots of cogs and shafts that made the machinery run. Another factor is the land was cheap. This is because the land was infertile and wasn’t very good for farming crops, so Greg got a good deal – cheap land with an added bonus, the river Bolin. Also the land was a good environment for cotton making because it had a damp atmosphere; this helps the cotton to not break as its being spun.
Another factor was workers. Styal was close to many towns and cities. The main one was Manchester. Greg could employ workers from workhouses in Manchester to come and work in his mill. This was easy because Manchester was very close. Greg could also employ people from Liverpool for the same reasons. Also Greg employed a few people from as far as London also.
Another factor was money. Greg came into a lot of money, £800. With this he could easily afford the cheap land, the construction of the mill, the workers and the machinery. If Greg hadn’t come into the money, he might not have looked at Styal as a location.
All of the factors combined together to make Styal an attractive site on which to build a mill. For example, the location and the transport links are linked together because Styal is in the perfect area for links to Manchester and Liverpool and also the Bridgewater canal is near by. The land and power are linked because the land was cheap and it had the added bonus of the river Bolin flowing through it. I think the most important factor was the land and the power because if the land wasn’t cheap, Greg might have shown a blind eye towards it and gone somewhere else, forfeiting the river as well.
