Bosley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 406.[1] The village is on the A523 road near to where it intersects the A54, about six miles south of Macclesfield. It is the site of Bosley Reservoir. The Macclesfield Canal runs through the parish. All its locks are in this section, including the noted Bosley Lock Flight.
| Bosley | |
|---|---|
 St. Mary the Virgin Church, Bosley | |
  Bosley Location within Cheshire | |
| Population | 406 [1] |
| OS grid reference | SJ917655 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MACCLESFIELD |
| Postcode district | SK11 |
| Dialling code | 01260 |
| Police | Cheshire |
| Fire | Cheshire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
The village is immediately to the north of the Staffordshire border, close to the Peak District National Park.
Arthur Herbert Procter, Victoria Cross recipient, was parish vicar of Bosley from 1931 to 1933.[2]
The village's tug of war team, formed in 1947, were world champions in 1975 and 1976.[3][4]
July 2015 explosions
editWood Treatment Ltd were manufacturers of a variety of wood fibre and wood powder products. At 9:10 am on Friday 17 July 2015, a number of people were injured, four killed or missing, and the mill destroyed, by at least three explosions at the Wood Treatment site.[5][6] The local Member of Parliament (MP), David Rutley, spent time at the site. He said it was "like a war zone" and described the day as his "darkest day" so far in his time as MP. The following Sunday the Methodist minister (Rev. Pam Butler) and Vicar (Rev. John Harries) held a joint service of remembrance. It was in the Anglican church because the Methodist church was inside the cordon set up to protect the site. On the Friday they had both expressed publicly the trauma and anger felt by the whole village. A fund for the victims was set up by a local councillor.[6] By 23 July, three of the four bodies had been recovered, and the fire chief was “very confident” that they knew the location of the last one. Fires were still burning and very little of the structure was identifiable.[7] Paul Hitchen, of the Urban Search and Rescue team, said, "The scale of the incident...is unprecedented in this country in the last 10 years."[8] Firefighters finally left the scene over a month after the tragedy. Even then the Urban Search and Rescue Team from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service remained to continue looking for the body of the one person who was, officially, still only missing.[9]
After an extensive investigation by Cheshire Constabulary and the national Health and Safety Executive, Wood Treatment Ltd was charged with corporate manslaughter in November 2019. The company's managing director was charged with manslaughter owing to negligence and two other managers with breaches in health and safety laws; their trial commenced in December 2019.[10][11] Following a 12-week trial, both the firm and its managing director were acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of lesser health and safety offences.[12]
The works had a long history. Two water-mills were built on the River Dane around 1760 by Charles Roe to process copper and brass. They were called "Higherworks Mill" and "Lowerworks Mill". Later, both mills were converted to process silk and cotton and later still to grind corn. They closed in the 1920s but reopened in the 1930s for their final task of grinding wood into a fine flour to make Linoleum, Bakelite and explosives.[13]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b Official 2001 Census Figures. Retrieval Date: 14 August 2007.
- ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1971–72. Oxford University Press. p. 779.
- ^ "Wood Treatment Bosley Tug of War Club". 1 September 2018. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Britton, Karen (21 July 2015). "Bosley explosion: Champion tug of war team makes tribute after disaster". Macclesfield Express. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Bosley explosion: 'Four missing' in Wood Flour Mills blast". BBC. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ a b Macclesfield Express, 22 July 2015, pp. 1–7
- ^ "Bosley blast: Third body pulled from wood flour mill". The Daily Telegraph. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ Britton, Karen (23 July 2015). "Bosley mill tragedy is the worst incident in ten years, say rescue team". Macclesfield Express. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ Macclesfield Express, 26 August 2015, p.9
- ^ "Bosley Mill explosion: Company director in court over four deaths". BBC. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "Bosley Mill explosion: Company charged with corporate manslaughter". BBC. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ Hainey, Fionnula (29 April 2021). "Bosley Mill owner cleared of gross negligence manslaughter after explosion killed four workers". The Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ Britton, Karen (5 August 2015). "Mill historian mourns loss of heritage". Macclesfield Express. p. 10.
External links
editTelegraph
Guardian
- Disaster Waiting to Happen
- Mill Owners Questioned
- Owners Share Pain
- Council visited two weeks earlier
