Styal is the least altered and perhaps best-preserved factory colony in Cheshire. Styal was no more than a rural hamlet before the Mill was built in 1784, but by 1840, it was a thriving village, most of whose inhabitants worked in the Mill.

When the Mill opened in 1784 Samuel Greg needed to employ workers. First these people were from Styal and nearby villages. In 1788 Greg began building an Apprentice House to accommodate pauper children from workhouses in other parts of the country or from families who could not afford to look after their children. As the Mill prospered, so did Styal Village. In 1790 there were 183 workers (excluding apprentices) at the Mill.

The Wharmby family lived just out of Styal at a place called Ringway. It is now the Manchester International Airport!