Mill Dam at Westwood Mills is a Grade II* listed building in the Kirklees local planning authority area, England. First listed on 20 June 2000. A Industrial Revolution Dam. 1 related planning application.

Mill Dam at Westwood Mills

WRENN ID
white-pier-moss
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Kirklees
Constituency
Colne Valley MP: Paul Davies (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
20 June 2000
Type
Dam
Period
Industrial Revolution
Address
Mill Dam at Westwood Mills, Lowestwood Lane
OS grid reference
SE 094 145
Coordinates
53.62762, -1.85807
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Mill Dam at Westwood Mills is a dam for a mill pond, constructed in 1801 and enlarged in 1824 and 1858. It is made of coursed local gritstone and features a retaining wall that is approximately 3 meters high on the east face. The dam has sluice gates at the north end for the water wheel and at the south end for overflow. It is triangular in shape, tapering towards the goit from the river at the west end, measuring about 200 meters long and 50 meters wide.

The north side of the mill pond is bordered by the towpath of the Huddersfield Canal, which was built around the same time, while the south side slopes down to the River Colne. This pond also provided water to the smaller mill dam at Lower Mill to the southeast, now known as Titanic Mill.

Historically, it was documented in 1801 as the dam embankment, byewash, pentrough, and wheel race. The enlargement in 1824 coincided with the addition of a new two-storey fulling mill, which included a wheel race, wooden and stone pentroughs, the dam embankment, two trunks, sluices, and byegoits.

Local climate

Mill Dam at Westwood Mills sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,020 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 82% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 75% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 51 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 93% of listed buildings. Of these, 31 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 1 application
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Boiler House and Engine House and Rope Race and Water Tower and Powerhouse at Westwood Mills Grade II* 17 m
  2. West Block at Westwood Mills Grade II* 21 m
  3. Offices and Workshop Range at Westwood Mills Grade II* 32 m
  4. North Range at Westwood Mills Grade II* 37 m
  5. Barber Row Grade II 165 m
  6. 16, 18 and 20 Low Westwood Lane Grade II 245 m
  7. Holywell Grade II 245 m
  8. 719, 721, 723, 725, 727 and 729 Manchester Road Grade II 283 m
  9. Lowestwood (Titanic) Mill Grade II 302 m
  10. 3 and 3a Low Westwood Lane Grade II 305 m