Stour Vale Mills (Woodward Grosvenor and Company Ltd) : Front Range

Stour Vale Mills, also known as Woodward Grosvenor and Company Ltd, is a carpet factory built in 1856 and later extended in the 19th century by architect J G Bland for the Stour Vale Mill Company. The building is constructed of red brick with yellow and white Stourbridge brick dressings, topped with roofs made of Welsh slate and corrugated sheet, featuring pedimental gable ends.

The factory has a long plan that includes offices and warehousing, with weaving sheds located at the rear, which are not included in this description. The exterior is two storeys high, with the north-west front elevation consisting of nine bays, with three bays in the center that project forward and are topped with a pediment. The building features rusticated white brick quoins, bond, and entablature, with rustication around the ground floor windows of the central three bays and a keyed oculus in the pediment. The round-headed windows have hoodmoulds and multipane cast-iron frames, although the first-floor windows have been altered. The center of the ground floor originally had a doorway. The right-hand side is designed in a similar style.

The interior has been altered for conversion into 20th-century office accommodation. The Stour Vale Mills Company established this factory in 1856 to provide Kidderminster carpet manufacturers with a space to rent and access power for powerloom weaving without needing to acquire new premises and looms. The weaving sheds were divided into nine compartments, each with separate entrances at the front. Notable carpet makers such as James Morton and Sons and William Green began their operations here before moving on to build their own factories.