Providence Mill

Providence Mill is a textile mill complex built in 1820, with alterations and additions made between 1883 and 1895, and further changes around 1990. Originally constructed for WM Greenwood & Son Ltd, who manufactured blankets and rugs, the complex includes an entrance range, a spinning mill with an attached engine house, a boiler house, and a chimney, along with single-storey weaving sheds to the north. The buildings are made of coursed rubble stone and ashlar, featuring ashlar dressings, and have slate and stone slate roofs.

The entrance from Sykes Road showcases a three-storey early 19th-century mill building, likely used for hand spinning or weaving, which has nine windows, most of which were replaced in the late 20th century, along with a set of taking-in doors on each floor, two windows from the right. Behind this, there is a restored entrance block with a doorway and two windows. To the left, the early 19th-century entrance features a central round-headed archway flanked by single windows and doors, above which is a circular window flanked by single windows, and in the central curved gable, there is a small semi-circular window.

Behind the entrance range are the engine house and boiler house, along with a large round brick chimney stack. The engine house contains the original engine installed in 1883, which is topped by an iron water tank. The mill building to the south has 15 windows and was added in 1883, while the rear weaving sheds feature north light saw-tooth roofs and are surrounded by a blind stone wall.

The steam engine, a single cylinder slide valve type installed in 1883, was converted to a tandem compound cylinder in 1895. It has an 18-inch diameter high-pressure cylinder and a 24-inch diameter low-pressure cylinder, with a 3-foot 6-inch stroke and a working speed of 88 revolutions per minute, developing 300 horsepower directly linked to the mill line shafting, which was disconnected around 1965. The engine was restored by Chris Evans and Paul Akrigg from 1985 to 1987, and this restoration received first prize in the National Steam Heritage Awards in 1990.