Mill Hall, Moor Lane Mill North

LANCASTER

SD4861 MOOR LANE 1685-1/5/187 (North side) 03/08/82 Mill Hall, Moor Lane Mill North (Formerly Listed as: MOOR LANE (North East side) Rear wing of Moor Lane North Mill, adjacent to Lancaster Canal)

GV II

Former mill, now student accommodation. c1800, steam-powered worsted factory, converted into cotton spinning factory by 1828. Heightened by 3 feet and re-roofed, probably c1830, with south-east lift tower added by 1877. Production ceased 1975, and converted into student accommodation 1988-89. Walls battered, of squared coursed sandstone, with slate roof. Of fireproof construction, with vaulted brick floors carried on cast-iron beams and columns, with original flagstones now replaced by concrete. Roof of timber spars and purlins between sectional cast-iron trusses. Rectangular plan alongside the Lancaster Canal, with coped gables, the cap of a ventilation shaft at the southern apex, and with a truncated chimney stack against the north gable. Re-entrant south-east corner filled by lift tower of darker-coloured stone. 5 main storeys, with basement storey and attic expressed on west side. The east facade, facing the canal, is of 10 bays, the left-hand bay belonging to the lift tower. An external iron fire escape, now non-functional, extends across the 2 right-hand bays. Plain ashlar frieze below the eaves, added when the roof was raised. The roof slope now contains C20 rooflights. The south gable wall contains windows to the lift tower, restored after demolition of adjoining buildings, with rusticated round-arched heads. The entrance is now through a Doric porch, added by Charles B Pearson Son & Partners (Architects) as part of the restoration. The west wall is also of 10 bays and has a central gabled round-arched loading door at attic level. HISTORY: the worsted mill was built by Thomas Higgin & Co. Thomas was the second son of John Higgin Senior, Governor of the Castle. In 1828 it was recorded as a cotton mill owned by Burrow, Higgin & Co. In 1846 it was purchased by John Greg, who then owned Moor Lane Mill South (qv). In 1861 it was sold to Storey Brothers, who operated it until its closure. The original engine house occupied the north bay of the mill and rose through 4 storeys, and evidence found during conversion work suggested that the mill was designed from the outset to house a beam engine. The engine bay was floored over in 1929. Conversion work involved demolition of some later additions, provision of new emergency stairs in the north-east corner, a new hydraulic lift in the lift shaft, and sub-division into study bedrooms. (Leather, GM: Moor Lane Mill (North) Lancaster: a Brief Outline: 1989-).

Listing NGR: SD4807461710