Slingfield Mills, Main Block

Slingfield Mills Main Block is a mill building for carpet yarn, constructed between 1864 and 1870 for Thomas Lea. It is made of red brick, featuring blue and buff brick bands and stone dressings, topped with a slate roof that has eleven ridge vents. The building is large and rectangular, rising four storeys high. It has a stone-coped pediment and gables, with a one-bay turret projecting to the east and west on either side of the south-facing five-bay pediment wall. At the north end of the west wall, there is a short wing that is one bay deep and three bays wide, which also has a turret set into the re-entrant angle. An opposing turret is located on the east wall, and all turrets are topped with pyramidal slate roofs.

There are eighteen window bays between the turrets on the east and west sides. The entire structure is topped with a stone eaves cornice that is supported by deep, closely spaced buff brick moulded corbels. Between these corbels, there are decorative square panels made of blue and buff bricks above a continuous moulded string course. The corners of the main block, wing, and turrets are accented with clasping pilaster buttresses that feature alternating bands of red and blue brick.

The ground floor windows are set beneath semicircular arches that have flush raised key blocks on moulded stone imposts. The windows on the upper floors have slightly pointed segmental arched heads, arranged in alternating bands of blue and buff brick, connected by buff brick bands. All windows have continuous stone string course cills. Some original fixed sash windows with glazing bars (3 x 3 panes) include pivoted sashes above the upper transom, while other windows have been later blocked with brick. Each pediment features a pierced stone-framed lunette opening. The interior has not been inspected.