Wood Bottom Mill

Wood Bottom Mill

Former textile mill of 1862 and later, with 21st-century alterations, now in multiple use.

The buildings are constructed in coursed gritstone with mainly stone slate roofs, though some have been re-roofed with modern materials, and some brick rebuilding is evident.

The mill complex occupies a narrow steep-sided site alongside the River Colne, which runs from south to north. At the southern end stands a three-storey former fulling mill aligned east-west, with a parallel two-storey warehouse block projecting northwards from its west end. Two adjacent single-storey sections extend further north from the warehouse. Two former cottages, now unoccupied and re-roofed, lie to the east. An octagonal chimney with a moulded cap is set in the valley side to the east of the fulling mill.

The south elevation of the fulling mill displays three storeys and nine bays. The ground floor to the right (east) has been lost where the ground rises. Windows are mainly six-pane timber-framed replacements with stone cills and lintels and a top storey lintel band. At the west end is an archway marking the location of a former water wheel. The eaves feature dentil moulding with kneelers and gable copings.

The north elevation has two storeys and five bays to the eastern end, with an inserted vehicle entrance to the left. The right-hand bay has a first-floor taking-in door with a cast iron hoist bracket to one side, above a ground-level entrance. Windows match those on the south side. A two-storey gabled range is attached to the west end of the north side, occupying the remaining four bays. This willeying room and warehouse was rebuilt in 1862. Its gable faces east with a raised entrance to the right of two windows. The first floor has two windows to the right of a taking-in door. To the north is a single-storey range with its gable end to the north, rebuilt in brick and containing a vehicle entrance. This was previously two storeys; the scar of the former upper floor remains visible on the warehouse building's side. A later single-storey building with a mono-pitch corrugated roof extends north from the warehouse to the east, with three windows along its east side and a vehicle entrance at the north end.

North-east of the fulling mill is a short row of former cottages, now used for storage, partly built into the valley side. The roof is corrugated with a mono-pitch. Two six-light stone-mullioned windows are visible on the west side. The chimney, south of the cottages, is octagonal with a moulded cap, built into the valley side. It previously had a flue running under the access road from the mill buildings, now collapsed.

The ground floor of the fulling mill was not accessed but shows a brick arched ceiling. The first floor (ground floor at the east end) is an open shed used as a workshop, with a stone flagged floor and timber-beamed ceiling. The second floor is similarly arranged and used for storage. The roof has been renewed but retains original trusses with king post structure. The two-storey warehouse or willeying room has cast iron columns with evidence of line shafting, supporting a brick arched ceiling on the ground floor and a timber ceiling on the first floor. Other interiors contain no features of special interest.