Ralph Taylor bought three existing cottages which he converted into a mill.

This was a carding mill, and was powered by a water wheel driven from Thorp Clough, a tributary of the River Irk.

Thorp itself is higher up the clough and is the oldest hamlet in Royton, Lancashire.

The construction of more mills followed, which initiated a process of urbanisation and socioeconomic transformation in the region; the population moved away from farming, adopting employment in the factory system.

[5] The introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution facilitated a process of unplanned urbanisation in the area, and by the mid-19th century Royton had emerged as a mill town.