Mill House

MILL HOUSE

Office suite and dwelling house, dating to around the 1840s.

Mill House stands on steeply sloping ground at Dean Clough. It comprises a front range running east-west across three storeys, with a side wing extending northwards from the east end. This wing has two storeys towards the rear where the ground rises. The building is constructed of narrow coursed stone "bricks" beneath a grey slate hipped roof.

The front range displays seven bays, with the outer two slightly stepped forward. A modillion cornice runs under the eaves, and bands mark the first and second floor levels. The ground floor windows are small-paned replacements with bottom-opening lights. The first and second floor windows have larger panes; those in the outer bays are mullioned 3-light windows. The west return is largely blank at first floor, with a single large window at ground and second floor levels, plus a small window towards the rear of the ground floor. The east side extends back to form the domestic wing, featuring three bays with a central entrance at first floor level. The windows here are similar to those in the outer bays of the front range, except the lower right window, which has been altered to have two lights rather than three, with a smaller window above the entrance. A double door with rectangular overlight and plain architrave is approached by stone steps with a sweeping iron handrail and opens onto a balcony. To the left of the steps are a ground floor entrance with a small-paned window, and below this a basement level with a 3-light mullioned window. To the right, the ground level is built up so that the first floor becomes the ground level.

Visible scars indicate where a former stable block once ran northwards behind the front range, with remains of an associated building extending to the retaining wall of Old Lane.

The ground floor of the front range is in current use as a nursery and was not inspected. The side wing, formerly the domestic part, retains a number of original doors, architraves and cornices. The central corridor features an arched entrance leading to the former office area, with some other openings also displaying moulded arches with imposts. Internal alterations have subdivided or opened out some rooms; only one fireplace was observed, with a blue marble surround.

John Crossley leased a water-powered mill at Dean Clough from the Waterhouse family in 1822, though he and his brothers had carried out worsted spinning and dyeing there since 1802. From 1841 onwards, the Crossley family began constructing a series of engine-powered spinning mills and weaving sheds for carpet manufacture, for which they became nationally famous. The first mill, 'A' Mill, was a spinning mill erected in 1841, excavated from the slope to the north with quarried stone used in its fabric. 'B' Mill followed in 1844 to the west, more than doubling capacity. Mill House was certainly in existence by 1849, shown on a map of that date, though an Insurance Plan of 1837 depicts a building in the same position with a similar footprint to part of the later house. The east-west range alongside the main road appears to date to the 1837 phase, while the north-south wing at higher level with domestic frontage is later. An account from 1948 describes it as the house of John Crossley, one of the founder's sons, which later became the firm's wages office, suggesting a dual function for much of the second half of the 19th century.

Stables and outbuildings that ran behind the house from 1849 were removed in the mid-20th century (post-1933). The front ground floor range, formerly offices, is now a children's nursery, while the remainder serves as artists' studios.