The Cottonworks is a Grade II listed building in the Bolton local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 November 1996. Industrial mill. 8 related planning applications.
The Cottonworks
- WRENN ID
- still-moulding-elm
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Bolton
- Constituency
- Bolton North East MP: Kirith Entwistle (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 4 November 1996
- Type
- Industrial mill
- Address
- The Cottonworks, Blackburn Road, BL1 7LS
- OS grid reference
- SD 716 122
- Coordinates
- 53.60606, -2.4303
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
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.
Local climate
The Cottonworks sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,120 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 88% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 81% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 47 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 88% of listed buildings. Of these, 27 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 11 transactions since 2007
- Related listed building consents — 8 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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