Armley Mills Main Range

Armley Mills, Main Range

A corn mill built in 1797, later converted to a woollen mill from 1805 onwards for Benjamin Gott, with associated outbuildings dating from the mid-19th century. The roof was repaired in 1929. The complex now serves as the Leeds Industrial Museum.

The main range is constructed of coursed squared stone and ashlar with a hipped slate roof, moulded cornice and blocking course. It forms an L-plan comprising a 23-bay, 4-storey north-south range (the woollen mill) and a 6-bay easterly projection at the south end (the corn mill). The corn mill projection is built into the ground slope and therefore appears as 2 storeys on its south side.

Associated structures include a restored water wheel with wheel pit, a single-storey shed of coursed squared sandstone with a gabled slate roof incorporating remains of the corn mill, a tall single-storey engine house attached to the north end of the main range, and remains of a mill building to the east with a cast-iron bollard standing against its south-east corner. The main range and outbuildings straddle the mill race, and the tail race bridge on which the structures stand is included in the listing.

The main range facades feature thick glazing bars to 3 by 3 light window frames with central pivoted panes, plain sills and lintels. On the west side, the central 9 windows have continuous sill bands, whilst a 2nd-storey sill band appears on the east side. At water level on the west side are round-arched openings with finely-cut voussoirs and iron grilles allowing head race flow to the corn mill water wheel and the site of the woollen mill water wheels. On the east side, the tail race emerges through 2 segmental arches and a third arch, the last of which is partially obscured by later platform construction.

The east wing's north side fenestration matches the main range but includes square blocked windows under the eaves. The south face features the corn mill entrance on the left with a first-floor walkway above, a steep flight of stone steps against the west gable descending to ground level on the north side, and a museum entrance linking to a warehouse.

The interior of the corn mill range's lower floor retains early cruciform-section cast-iron columns. Part of the upper floor ceiling retains sheet-iron cladding nailed to the underside of the joists in 1807. The main range features cylindrical cast-iron columns and T-section cast-iron beams supporting shallow brick-arched floors, representing the earliest surviving example of this form of fire-proof construction. The roof was rebuilt in 1929.

The site has medieval origins, functioning as a corn and fulling mill from the 16th century. In 1788, Colonel Thomas Lloyd purchased and rebuilt it as one of the largest woollen mills in the world, containing 18 fulling stocks and 50 looms, managed by Israel Burrows and Christopher Hill. The foundations of the present main range probably date to this period. The corn mill was rebuilt at the same time but burnt down in 1797; the surviving structure dates from this rebuild. Benjamin Gott rented the mills from Lloyd whilst Bean Ing mill was being reconstructed following a fire in 1799. In 1804, Gott agreed to purchase the buildings, but a major fire destroyed Lloyd's new structure. Gott's new Armley Mills was built on the same site, powered by 2 water wheels approximately 5.5 metres (18 feet) in diameter and approximately 8.7 metres (28 and a half feet) long, fitted with gearing that enabled them to exceed the output of steam engines until approximately 1840. The mill contained fulling stocks extending down the centre of the ground floor, scribbling and carding machines on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and mechanics workshops on the top floor. Corn milling ceased around 1810 and the building was adapted to textile use. A beam engine house was added around 1850 by Gott's sons John and William, and the mill was extensively reordered at that time. By the 1880s, the premises were used by various textile manufacturers. In 1969, Leeds City purchased the buildings for use as an industrial museum following a period of neglect.