Thwaite Mill

Thwaite Mill is a water mill located on Thwaite Lane in Rothwell, built between 1823 and 1825 by millwrights Hewes and Wren on the site of an earlier mill. The building is constructed of red brick in English bond and features a slate roof. It has a rectangular plan with two and a half storeys above a millrace, comprising nine bays and a four-bay addition at the south end. On the west side, the center and right-hand end each have a segmental-arched inlet for water wheels, which are protected by iron bar grills. The ground and first floors have loading doors in the third and seventh bays (with the former blocked) and rectangular windows, all featuring rectangular stone lintels, most of which have been renewed. The attic includes gabled dormers with wooden louvred openings.

The canted engine house at the north end has a circular chimney rising from it, while the addition at the south end is of less architectural interest. The east side has similar openings, but with doorways instead of loading doors, and windows with renewed glazing.

Inside, there are two low breast-shot water wheels, each 18 feet in diameter, with widths of 14 feet 6 inches and 8 feet 6 inches, along with their associated gearing and drives.

Historically, the mill was built for oil-seed and corn grinding but was converted into a putty mill in the 1870s, continuing in that use until the breach of the weirs in 1976.