How Yorkshire mills have been repurposed through time

Textile mills were the foundation of the industrial revolution and generated vast amounts of wealth across Britain.

I would argue that mills are as important a part of our landscape and national heritage as churches, cathedrals and country houses.

Unfortunately, all too many textile mills lie vacant, are semi-derelict or remain under threat of demolition. At the last count there were around 690 vacant or underutilised mills across the north of England which if re-developed, could create 42,000 homes and 84,000 jobs.

Bents Mill near Haworth before and after renovation, now holiday accommodation. Photo Susan Emmanuel Bents Mill near Haworth before and after renovation, now holiday accommodation. Photo Susan Emmanuel A recent YouGov poll showed that 85per cent of people don’t want to see mills demolished or replaced and would like to see them repurposed as housing, offices and public amenities rather than being replaced with new buildings. Rather than build on the green belt the development of vacant mills can help provide homes and jobs within local neighbourhoods.

Over the last four years I have been working on a project called Mills Transformed documenting the repurposing of derelict textile mills, by inspiring people, who have found creative new uses for mill buildings. This has involved visiting 33 mills across Yorkshire and Lancashire which have been renovated and repurposed.

I have encountered numerous hidden success stories where large-scale mills have, against all odds, been regenerated to accommodate a wide range of uses – not only housing but also business workspace, artist studios, galleries, colleges, café restaurants, a classic car showroom, retail outlets, music venues and even the longest bar in Britain!

Old Town Mill near Hebden Bridge – now a complex of homes, business units and a café The research for the Mills Transformed book has involved interviews with mill owners, developers and end-users and documents their insights into what make a successful mill renovation. What comes across is that behind every successful scheme there are one or two individuals who have enormous vision, tenacity and perseverance who have learnt and applied a range of skills to bring about such mill renovations.

These individuals should be celebrated for their achievements in preserving and repurposing great swathes of our industrial heritage.

Douglas Mill in Bradford – now Dixons Sixth Form Academy Much can be learnt from these case studies as to how such transformations have been achieved. Mills can be given new life to provide homes and jobs but it needs the energy, vision and long-term commitment of many individuals and organisations.

A Mills Transformed book has been published which is accompanied by a photographic exhibition at the Bradford Industrial Museum in Eccleshill.

Drawing on the visited mill case studies, the book reaches conclusions as to what makes a successful scheme and how further mills can be renovated and repurposed.

Velvet Mill Roof Pods. supplied Rediscovering the magic of mills:

* Legrams Mill was an integrated mill complex built in Bradford in 1873. The mill architects were the renown Lockwood and Mawson responsible for many of Bradford’s major buildings. Their Italianate style design for Legrams Mill features belvedere towers either side of the building – identical to those incorporated in Lockwood and Mawson’s design of Salts Mill.

The mill has now been converted into student accommodation, a wedding gift shop, banqueting suite and grill restaurant.

* Velvet Mill Roof Pods: Originally built in 1838, Lister Mills in Manningham was once the world’s largest silk mill and still dominates Bradford’s skyline. The mills’ floor space spanned over 27 acres and employed nearly 10,000 people.

These stunning zinc clad apartments on the roof of Velvet Mill were added to improve the viability of the mill regeneration scheme.

The original mill windows, which give commanding views across the area, were designed to be opaque in order to prevent the workers looking out of them…

* Douglas Mill: A Grade II listed mill and Coach House, built in Bradford in the 1840s. The mill was refurbished in 2020 to create teaching facilities for the Dixons Sixth Form Academy.

The renovation works have retained many of the mill’s original features including the cast iron columns.

The building has a modern, light, airy feel providing high quality accommodation for the 850 students studying at the Academy.

Mills Transformed by Neil Horsley. * Mills Transformed is a large format hardback book with more than 140 atmospheric photographs.

The book is on sale at Salts Mill and other bookshops and is available online. For signed copies, email the publisher at john@johnhudsonpublishing.com

For more about the Mills Transformed project go to mills-transformed.com