The Cottonworks

The Cottonworks is a former cotton spinning mill built in 1927. Designed by Bradshaw, Gass and Hope for Sir John Holden, it represents a later example of mill construction in Bolton and was the last mill to be built in the town. Constructed primarily of brick, the building features a steel and concrete internal structure and a flat concrete roof.

The mill is five storeys high with a basement, arranged in a 14-bay by 6-bay layout, notable for stressed angles which house services and one prominent tower. Wide, flat-headed windows are grouped in threes, set between pilasters with ornamented terracotta capitals. A cornice runs above the fourth floor, while the attic windows have brick mullions. The roofline is accentuated by a fretted parapet. A stair tower at the north-west corner includes round-arched windows with balconettes in the upper storey and is capped by a domed copper roof.

A two-storey extension, likely contemporary with the main mill, runs along the eastern elevation, providing card rooms. A single-storey extension, probably linked to the mill’s electrical power system, is attached to the north side. A short, square chimney, centrally located on the north elevation, served the heating boilers. The south elevation is characterized by full-height pilasters with neo-Egyptian capitals.

The interior remains uninspected, but the mill’s construction was notable for its reliance on mains electricity as its primary power source.