The Big Mill

The Big Mill is a silk mill built around 1860 by William Sugden. It is constructed of brick with stone dressings and features a low-pitched or flat roof that is not visible. The building is designed in the Italianate style and has a narrow plan with five-window returns.

The exterior consists of six storeys and a 21-window range, highlighted by an advanced central stair tower that rises seven storeys. This tower has an arcaded upper storey and an overhanging shallow pyramidal roof. It features rusticated quoins and window surrounds, plain string courses, and a moulded cornice above the sixth storey. There are shallow projecting bays on either side of the tower, which may have originally served as privy towers. The fenestration includes iron-framed windows with continuous stone cills and flat stone lintels, while the ground floor showcases round-arched windows that form an arcade. The central doorway at the base of the tower has a concave reveal with a round-arched head, a heavy key block, and a fanlight, with pilasters accentuating the angles. The building is topped with a cornice and parapet.

At the rear, there is an engine and boiler house, although there is only slight evidence of the original power transmission. The Big Mill is an important example of large-scale construction for the silk industry and represents one of the earliest mill buildings of this size in Leek. It also exemplifies the mill-style developed by William Sugden, who was a leading mill architect in Leek during this period.