Beehive Mills

Beehive Mills is a pair of cotton spinning mills located on Crescent Road in Bolton. The first mill, known as spinning mill No.1, was constructed in 1895, and the second, spinning mill No.2, was added in 1902. The complex includes two spinning blocks, original offices, a gate lodge, and a later office built around 1920.

The exterior of spinning mill No.1 features five storeys and measures 15 by 4 bays. It has a multi-ridge roof and an internal structure made of cast iron, steel, and concrete, with a brick exterior. The large rectangular windows are divided by central mullions, and yellow brick bands serve as lintels. A stair and sprinkler tower at the southeast corner has been raised by an additional storey and features a high parapet, although its stepped pyramidal cap is now missing. Spinning mill No.2 is similar in style, standing six storeys tall and measuring 13 by 5 bays. It has a stair and sprinkler tower at the southeast corner, similar to that of mill No.1, and an additional smaller tower at the northwest corner. The two spinning mills are connected by a loading bay that displays the mill's name and the date of 1902.

At the rear of mill No.1, there is an engine house, along with a boiler house and a truncated stack. In front of mill No.2, several bays of a single-storey building with a saw-tooth roof serve as preparation or carding areas. Documentary evidence indicates that mill No.2 once had an engine house at the center-rear and that there were card-room extensions at the rear of mill No.1.