Hollins Mill stood on Hollins Lane in the small town of Marple, Greater Manchester and for over a century was a major employer there. The mill was built in c.1830 by Charles Walmsley and in 1859 it came into the possession of the Carver family who were to have a huge effect on the development of the Marple area. Brothers John and Thomas Carver purchased the mill in partnership with Samuel and Edwin Hodgkinson and originally their company was titled S. Hodgkinson & Co., before becoming the Hollins Mill Co. in 1865 after the Hodgkinsons had dropped out of the business. The Carvers subsequently moved the head office to 5 Portland Street in Manchester. The company carried out both the spinning and weaving of cotton. By the early 20thcentury, the Hollins Mill Co. was specialising in the manufacture of “quality goods”and, in particular, the sheets it produced were sold to businesses and organisations such as Cunard and the White Star shipping lines, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Salvation Army. In time these sheets came to be known as Marple Sheets.The Carver family were great benefactors in Marple and were responsible for the provision and construction of various amenities, such as a cinema, a working men's club, a library, the Marple Reform Church, and a gymnasium. The Carvers finally left Marple in c.1920 after donating their family home Hollins Houseand the land around it for use as Marple's War Memorial Park.
After the Second World War, the Hollins Mill Co. Ltd. joined the William Thompson Combine, which was later taken over by Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co., who finally closed the mill in 1954. The site of the mill is now occupied by the Hollins Shopping parade and Co-op Superstore.
