Trafalgar Mill Walker Hey Footbridge

Trafalgar Mill is a former cotton mill, now used for commercial and leisure purposes, located in Burnley. The original mill for spinning was built in 1846 for WH Halstead, featuring an internal transverse engine house and fireproofed stairs. In 1867, the mill was integrated with an external engine house, boiler house, water tank, and weaving sheds. Further extensions and a height increase occurred in 1872, along with the addition of an office and stair tower. Later, there were minor alterations. The Walker Hey footbridge was constructed between 1891 and 1892 to provide workers with quicker access to the town centre.

The mill is built of coursed millstone grit rubble with slate roofs. The main mill building is three storeys with an attic and basement, comprising 16 bays by 5. The 1872 extension towards Trafalgar Street is marked by a vertical joint, and the former eaves cornice of the earlier range has been incorporated as a transom window to the top floor. A gabled stair and privy block is on the left elevation, and a gabled hoist is on the right, with slate cladding on its sides. The street-facing elevation has regular window patterns on all floors, and a gable wall with triple round-headed lancets and an oculus. A gabled stair/water tower has a small round-headed window on each stage. A single-storey range, partly brick, features only a single doorway towards the street.

The canal elevation includes a 6-window warehouse range of two stories, with one bay cut through to create a covered walkway leading to the footbridge. Adjacent is the boiler house, and between the canalside and roadside ranges are the weaving sheds, with a mix of slate and glazed roof sections.

The interior retains cast-iron columns with shaped brackets, notably slim on the upper floors. The area between the engine house and fireproofed stairs is flag-floored. The footbridge is made of iron and has swan-necked supports and cross braces. Trafalgar Mill exemplifies the complex building history of a single industrial site over approximately fifty years.