Buildings 14, 15, 16 and the bridge link at Cromford Mill

Buildings 14, 15, 16 and the bridge link at Cromford Mill

These are late 18th-century mill offices, workshop and warehouse buildings with an attached arched link building, constructed of millstone grit blocks under a slate roof.

The three buildings are arranged linearly, oriented roughly north-east to south-west, and together form a range of 20 bays. Building 14, at the east end, spans seven bays and features doors at both its west and east ends, with eight-over-eight sash windows between them on the ground floor in the second, third and sixth bays. Both the first and second floors have seven evenly spaced sash windows.

Building 15, positioned to the west, is a later addition with four bays. The ground floor contains two sash windows flanked by two entrances, one serving each bay. Above, both the first and second floors have four eight-over-eight sash windows per floor.

Building 16 forms the western portion with nine additional bays. The two upper floors display regular fenestration with two-pane casements within each bay. The ground floor has entrance doors in the second and ninth bays and a large opening in the fifth bay. Steel joists were inserted by the colour works to accommodate heavy floor loading. Alternate bays on the ground floor contain windows, with those at the east end positioned slightly higher than those to the west. The west elevation is apsidal, connecting to the arched link building. The apsidal elevation contains openings at each level on either side of the link. The link building itself is constructed of red brick with a shallow segmental arch, providing access from the road to the mill yard and allowing passage between buildings 16 and 17 at first and second floor levels. A small window opening sits at the centre of the link building on both levels.

On the north-east elevation of building 14, a single door occupies the centre of the ground floor, flanked by two timber two-paned windows with vents above each pane.

The south elevations facing the road show buildings 14 and 15 with largely blind ground floors except for a single door and window opening at the east end, both under ashlar lintels. At first-floor level is a series of ventilation grates, indicating former use as stabling, with regularly spaced sash windows in each bay above on the first and second floors. Building 16 has two-pane windows at second-floor level but is otherwise blind except for two large eight-over-twelve sashes at the east end of the ground floor.

Internally, the ground floor of building 14 contains a large open room connected to an additional room within building 15, with a stairwell at the north-east end. Interior walls at this end are of brick. The first floor has a connecting doorway into building 16, leading to a large room with modern partitions. The second floor is similarly open, with connecting doorways between the buildings, and the roof trusses are visible. At the west end of building 15, the remains of a hot-air heating system survive, utilising flues constructed as part of the east end wall of building 16. The east end of building 16 may originally have housed offices, retaining fireplaces on the ground and first floors. The west end contained a counting house and retains some late 18th-century doors. The building also preserves an early wrought-iron fire door leading into building 15.