Bitham Mill Comprising the South East Block, The North Block and North West Block is a Grade II listed building in the Wiltshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 31 March 1978. Mill. 5 related planning applications.
Bitham Mill Comprising the South East Block, The North Block and North West Block
- WRENN ID
- strange-chapel-sunrise
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Wiltshire
- Constituency
- South West Wiltshire MP: Dr Andrew Murrison (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 31 March 1978
- Type
- Mill
- Address
- Bitham Mill Comprising the South East Block, The North Block and North West Block, Alfred Street, Westbury, BA13 3DB
- OS grid reference
- ST 875 513
- Coordinates
- 51.26104, -2.17992
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Bitham Mill comprises three blocks - the south-east, north, and north-west - forming a group of former cloth factory buildings situated adjacent to a large pond. Some parts of the mill may date back to the late 18th century.
The south-east block includes the water factory of 1803. It is built of purple brick with stone string courses, featuring eight bays of segmental-headed windows with glazing bars on the first floor. The block originally had five storeys, but now has only three. A tall, blocked window to the left, with quoins to a round-headed arch, indicates the former location of an engine house. An extension was added to the east in 1829, incorporating a larger engine house where a tall round-headed window with red brick voussoirs remains. A boiler house with a tall square stack is attached. Further east is a two-storey block with six windows, ending with a three-storey block of approximately the 1860s, featuring three windows with segmental heads.
The north block, likely designed by W.J. Stent in 1868, is a two-storey (formerly four-storey) range of 14 bays, constructed of purple brick with stone dressings, including window heads, keystones, and moulded impost bands over stilted segmental-headed windows.
The north-west block, dating from the early 19th century, is the best-preserved portion of the mill and notable for its domestic appearance. It stands three storeys high with a basement, and is built of purple brick with a slate roof. Originally featuring six windows on the second floor and seven on the first, it now retains modern casements. Brick flat arches frame the windows. The second bay from the left features a pedimented Tuscan doorpiece with attached columns, now lacking bases. The roof has a double span. Returns and a mid-19th century rear extension consist of three ranges of segmental-headed windows with stone surrounds over four floors to the north. These are joined by a lower courtyard and a set-back range linked to the south-east block.
The interior features floors supported by brick vaults and cast iron pillars, which are fluted and have ornamental pedestals, along with cast iron beams.
Local climate
Bitham Mill Comprising the South East Block, The North Block and North West Block receives an average of 860 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 61% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 64% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 51% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 4 transactions since 2003
- Related listed building consents — 5 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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