Lees Newsome Limited was founded in 1875 by a textile engineer named Benjamin Lees. Since then 6 generations of his family have served the company. The company manufactured textiles and textile based products at its original site, being Ashley Mill in Oldham, for over 130 years. Originally, principally a weaving and raising operation, the company has changed with the times and necessarily embraced ever changing technology. Expansion into bleaching, dyeing and finishing soon followed and decades later knitting, coating and sewing units were added. Indeed, during the halcyon days for the Lancashire cotton industry, Lees Newsome employed some 250 people and operated over 200 looms. Changing times saw a dramatic decrease in demand for U.K. produced cotton fabrics, predominantly due to globalisation and easier accessibility to cheaper imports. By the turn of the Millennium Lees Newsome Limited were the only surviving cotton mill in Oldham from the 200 or more in operation at the turn of the previous century. To survive, change was inevitable and in 2008 the company re-structured. Weaving and raising processes were sub contracted and bleaching, dyeing and finishing plant was re-located. There was a move from the original site to more modern premises 3 miles away in Middleton. Today the company continues to operate as a textile manufacturer, importer and convertor, servicing numerous sectors of “the trade”.