Dryhouse And Parallel Range At Burley Mills

LEEDS

SE2734 KIRKSTALL ROAD 714-1/28/927 (South side (off)) 01/11/91 Dryhouse and parallel range at Burley Mills

GV II

Dryhouse and additional parallel ranges. c1806 and later. For the firm of Wormald, Gott and Wormald and later for Thomas Stansfield and Co., worsted manufacturers. Coursed soft yellow sandstone, stone slate roof hipped at east end to dryhouse, squared grey gritstone and slate roofs to added parallel ranges; gable copings. Single-storey throughout, the dryhouse built parallel to the tail race of the mill, 9 windows long, the west end an addition. Windows have tie-stone jambs, C20 frames; doorway in west end has edge-tooled tie-stone jambs. 3 windows on north side, east end, the remainder obscured by added range which has 2 blocked segmental-arched wide doorways at west end and C20 doorways and windows on north and east sides. INTERIOR: the dryhouse range north wall is removed, brick and steel columns support former eaves; roof structure of 12 trusses, tie beams with queen posts clasping collar, 2 tiers of purlins, trusses 4, 7 and 11 are king post construction, the base of the king posts bolted through the tie beam, similar trusses to parallel range. Records show that in 1805-06 'Gott's dryhouse and cottages' and the mill entrance were being built at Burley (Hudson, p.180). This range is likely to be the one referred to as it is similar to the dryhouse at Armley Mills, Canal Road (qv). In the early C19 such buildings were replacing the extensive tenter fields where woven fabrics were stretched to dry. The covered sheds were used to dry the raw wool or the woven fabric, heat from stoves possibly being used initially. This example is the earliest yet known and by the mid C19 the tentering machine was developed (C Giles, pers.comm.). Part of the important Burley mill group, see main range (qv) for historical information. (Hudson P: W Riding Wool Textile Industry: business records, 16th-20th C: 1975-: 180).

Listing NGR: SE2701234808