Former Donington Mill

The Former Donington Mill is a silk mill built between 1870 and 1871 for John Watson and Son, who were silk throwsters. It is constructed of red brick with a roughcast plinth and features a hipped tarred slate roof. The building is a long, two-storey rectangular range with eighteen bays. The entrance, offices, and staircase are located at the north end, while a second staircase is found in a turret at the rear of the south end.

The façade includes a polychrome brick band course at the first floor level, with moulded stone sills beneath the upper windows. The eaves are moulded, and the four central bays are slightly advanced and topped with a pediment, featuring keyblocks above the windows. The large windows have cast iron glazing bars and segmental heads, highlighting the importance of natural light for the industrial use of the building. The central pediment has flush strings of blue brick, with an arched clock set above, also featuring a keyblock. Below the clock, there is a short moulded stone string with carved stops, and the verge of the pediment is moulded with nailhead ornament.

There are 20th-century buttresses between the second and third bays. The left end of the building has three bays with similar windows, all featuring keyblocks. The centre of the ground floor is advanced to form a porch over double doors, which are set in a recessed arch of chamfered brick, with moulded stone capitals on the side piers. The porch is adorned with a moulded stone cornice and ball finials. The rear elevation is similar to the front but lacks the pediment and has seen some alterations, including blocked and modified window openings, now inside large 20th-century extensions.

Inside, the mill features a wooden floor supported by cast-iron columns, two of which have been replaced with rolled steel joists. The floor in the second bay from the south end has been removed to accommodate late 20th-century machinery. The original wooden king-post roof structure remains intact.