Former Rubber Store (Building 76), Kingston Mills

This is a former weaving shed, dating from the mid to late 19th century, that was later converted to a rubber store after 1900. The building is constructed of ashlar and brick, with a slate roof featuring a four-bay west roof-light pattern, and east-sloping pitches. It is roughly square in plan and of two storeys.

The south elevation exhibits a blocked rectangular opening which originally contained a segmental-headed cast iron window with 12 lights. Below is a circular-headed doorway with a timber door at ground floor level. Above these openings are two cast iron windows with 18 lights, and a central round-headed delivery door. The gables of the first-floor sheds are obscured by a high parapet. The north elevation displays five bays, reflecting the angle of the west boundary. Four bays have segmental-headed openings, two now fitted with double timber doors, one converted to a doorway from a window, and the fourth containing a blocked window opening with a stone sill. A horizontal stone band separates the two storeys, above which is a central delivery door.

Internally, the ground floor features rough-faced coursed stone and ashlar-faced semi-circular vaults with a stone-flagged floor. Doorways connect the vaults. The first floor is a single open space, extending to the roof, and both the floor and window sills are lined with rubber. Access to this upper level is now gained via the adjacent New Mills building.

Originally used for weaving, likely associated with the nearby New Mills woollen mill complex, the building was purchased by Spencer, Moulton & Co in 1899. Around 1900, it was raised to two storeys, and the stone-arched vaults were added to the ground floor to create a fireproof store for raw India rubber. The company was later bought by the Avon Rubber Company in 1956, who continued manufacturing rubber here until the site’s closure in 1992.

It is of special interest due to its historical association with the rubber industry of Spencer Moulton, and its unusual combination of semi-circular vaults and west-lit sheds. It has strong group value with the adjacent New Mills complex and contributes significantly to the townscape of Bradford-on-Avon.