Main Building At Stanley Mills

Main building at Stanley Mills

Mill building and offices built in 1813 with a large addition of around 1825. Originally constructed for Harris and Maclean, with later additions made for Maclean, Stephens and Company. The structure features an ashlar base with Flemish bond red brick and ashlar dressings, topped with a Welsh slate roof.

The original building was designed in an L-plan with five storeys. A matching block was subsequently added to the east, accompanied by a small two-storey office projection to the north, which was later enlarged to three storeys.

The north side displays the main elevation of the west arm of the original block. This features a fenestration pattern of 4:5:4 with central Venetian windows to each floor of a break forward section, topped with keyed round arches. Other windows of the break forward have stone voussoir lintels. The original fenestration consists entirely of multi-paned iron casements with gauged brick flat arches, which remain entirely unaltered. Alternating chamfered quoins run vertically, with sill bands positioned at the 3rd and 5th storey levels. The upper floor fenestration is round-arched without the central Venetian window. A plain parapet with stone coping crowns the section; it formerly featured a central pediment, as illustrated on 19th-century headed notepaper. The south side of the original block displays a simplified fenestration but remains very imposing, with a continuous run of 16 windows to each floor. A hipped roof with long continuous rooflights covers this section.

The north side of the additional block to the left shows a fenestration pattern of 3:4:3, with the outer parts of the elevation having central Venetian windows. Each features an oval central arch in gauged brick supported on iron colonnettes, with voussoir lintels to the fenestration of the central break forward. A two-bay wide central projection contains 16-pane sash fenestration and was enlarged to three storeys and extended in the late 19th century. A large doorway on the east side has moulded architraves and is sheltered by a flat timber porch hood on shaped brackets. The doorway itself consists of eight-panel double doors with a rectangular light above.

At the north west corner of the block is a roof-top water tower with an iron tank supported on a square base. The base features round-arched stone-dressed recesses on each face. The east end elevation of the additional block to the right displays a three-window fenestration, with the central window being tripartite.

Interior

The L-block contains very early fireproof construction of exceptional quality. A central arcade of classical cast-iron columns supports round-arched tracery above, carrying transverse iron beams. Segmental-arched brick cross-vaulting is supported on these beams and has a stone flag floor finish. The ironwork is of high architectural quality, with spandrels above the arcade correctly sized to accommodate power drive shafts. Benjamin Gibbons was the manufacturer of this ironwork. Heavy iron doors with self-closing weights are fitted to staircase doorways.

This mill building is of great importance due to its fireproofed structure, which survived a major fire in 1884, and the quality of its brick elevations. At the time of survey in October 1985, it continued in use for the manufacture of cloth.