Vernon Mill

Vernon Mill is a late 19th and early 20th century cotton spinning mill, now used as various industrial units. It is located close to the confluence of the Goyt and Tame rivers, in an area of mill expansion to the northeast of the old town of Stockport. The building is constructed primarily of red brick and terracotta, with a flat roof. It has four storeys and approximately 15 bays by 8, with a three-bay projection to the left and an Italianate tower in the corner. The tower features a lettered parapet reading ‘VERNON’, angle pilasters, a tiled roof with wrought-iron cresting, and a flagpole. Large paired and triple windows are set within pilasters, with moulded sill bands, modillion eaves, and a parapet.

The interior features a steel frame with cast-iron columns and concrete floors. The ground floor has lateral segmental brick arches supported by tall cast-iron columns and a flagstone floor.

The west facade includes a projecting covered loading bay in the centre, a rope race tower to the right, and a lower attached engine house at the southwest corner. The engine house has windows set in round-arched recesses. A further fine tall window on the south side of the engine house has been altered, with the lower part now serving as a workshop entrance. The arches of the loading bay feature posts and keystones, and a low segmental gable pediment.

A single and two-storey preparation and loading warehouse range runs along the south side of the main block, featuring inserted ground floor entrances, segmental-arched windows, an upper floor loading door, roof lights, and a water tower.

The single-storey office/reception block at the northwest corner, at the mill entrance, displays stone detailing, round-arched windows of two and three lights, corner pilasters that extend above the parapet, and no finials.

Subsidiary features include stone boundary walls with railings featuring bulbous finials. There is also a stone gate pier approximately 2.5 metres high, with a square base, moulded capstone with a domed finial, and an attached gate with close-set rails and a curved brace. This mill is typical of those built at the turn of the 20th century, illustrating the architectural changes that occurred as technological advancements allowed for larger and better-lit mills.