Three Storey Block to South West at Cross Lane Mills

Three-storey block to south-west at Cross Lane Mills

Former spinning mill begun in 1821 by Eli Suddards and completed by James Cousen.

MATERIALS AND EXTERIOR

The mill is constructed of coursed stone 'bricks' with a brick toilet tower. It comprises three storeys plus an attic and measures ten windows long and three bays deep. A stair turret is positioned at the north-west end, with a combined brick toilet tower and hoist tower to the rear (north-east). At the south-east end sits a single storey lean-to, possibly a former boiler house. A gable-ended section projects from the south-west elevation at the southern end, possibly a former engine shed. A later single-storey flat-roofed building is attached to this projection, extending across the southern half of the main mill. A range of later sheds is attached to the rear (north-east).

Most windows are late 20th-century timber-framed 8-over-8 sashes, with some metal frames to the gable ends and rear. Both gable ends feature blocked Venetian windows with square mullions. Sill bands run at each floor level. The stair tower has a hipped roof and paired round-headed windows to the front (south-west), with blind openings to the rear. The building has a coved eaves cornice. The toilet tower and hoist at the rear are brick, with the top part rebuilt in the 20th century and windows in the upper part of the toilet tower. An external stair, encased in corrugated metal, connects the stair turret to the hoist tower.

INTERIOR

The ground and first floors retain rows of cast iron columns with line shafting, those on the first floor being encased in modern boxes. The second floor is open with steel ceiling beams and a replaced floor. The attic floor retains its original floor with hatches, and the roof structure is largely intact. The pegged timbers consist of open trusses supported by two vertical struts on each side with a cross beam across the centre. Extra supports have been added in places with metal ties. Two small skylights have been inserted.

HISTORY

The building at Cross Lane was begun in 1821 by Eli Suddards and completed by James Cousen, a local woollen draper who opened it as a spinning mill, one of the earliest in the area. The main range appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1852. The 1893 1:2500 map and a 1:500 plan of similar date show a building with a larger footprint extending to the north-east, probably including weaving sheds and other ancillary buildings. Two separate but attached buildings (possibly boiler house and engine room) and a chimney are depicted at the south-east corner. By the early 20th century an extension had been added to the south-west front, and the complex was identified as a worsted mill. It continued to operate as a mill into the mid-20th century, and became a mosque towards the end of the 20th century. The single storey sections to the south-east have been used as a garage and are currently being converted for use by the mosque.