Castle Mill Building To North

Castle Mill is a late 18th and 19th century mill building located on Waterside, Knaresborough. Constructed of coursed gritstone and brick in random bond, it has a pantile and Westmorland slate roof. The building follows the curve of the road and is three storeys high, with ten bays, plus a two-storey, three-bay brick addition at the north end, which is not of particular interest.

The west facade, facing the river, has ground-floor openings that are boarded over. The first floor features six sash windows with glazing bars to the left, three side-sliding sashes, and a 16-pane sash to the right. A straight joint in the roofline is visible between the three windows to the right and those to the left. The second floor has eleven square windows, mostly with five fixed panes.

The east side (facing the road) has blocked openings at ground floor level, a first-floor loading door, and blocked windows to the second floor. The south gable end has a stone ground floor with a blocked window and a wooden lintel at first-floor level. The upper two storeys are brick, with a boarded 2-light window set within a cambered header arch on the second floor. A notice from the Knaresborough Historical Society explains that the mill was built in 1791 as a cotton mill, later becoming a center for the linen trade, which continued until 1972. A sign-board, erected by Walton and Co, previously advertised ‘Knaresborough’ linens.

A low, two-storey brick porch with a board door, wooden lintel, and small square window connects the building to another range to the southwest. The interior was not inspected. Historical records indicate that the mill was opened in September 1791, following an agreement between John and Charles Lomas and Robert Thornton. It may have previously been used as a paper mill and adapted shortly after a new water wheel was planned in November 1790. The mill converted to flax spinning for linen in 1811, and was leased by Walton and Company in 1847 for yarn spinning and power loom weaving. Linen production ceased in 1972, and Walton left the site in 1984.