The Colne Bridge Mill Disaster. 1818. The Valentine's Day Tragedy. Huddersfield

At Colne Bridge, near Huddersfield, was the cotton spinning Atkinson's Mill. In the 19th century, these mills worked 24 hours, spinning cotton into yarn ready for sale. A large chunk of the workforce was also done by child labour, often supervised by sadistic overseers. Atkinsons Mill had children as young as 9 working there. On a night shift, at 5am on Valentines Day 1818, a fire broke out in a room. The mill interior was wooden....stairs, ceilings...and covered in dust. The place ignited, and the fire rapidly ascended the mill. The children (all girls) working or cleaning on the mill floor were trapped, and the fire had eaten their escape route. Of the 26 workers at the mill that night, only 9 had escaped. After their bodies were taken to a nearby pub (now called The Royal and Ancient, and said to be the 7th most haunted pub in the UK today), a proocession took the children to Kirkheaton Church where, today, a memorial stands to remember the 17 girls who lost their lives in the tragedy.