Tay Works, 2 Lochee Road, Dundee

Tay Works, 2 Lochee Road, Dundee

A substantial jute mill complex built in two adjoining pedimented blocks with later extensions, constructed between 1851 and 1871 for Gilroy Brothers' Engineering Department.

The main structures comprise 3- and 4-storey blocks with attics, totalling 58 bays. They are built in coursed rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings, with slate roofs throughout.

The South Block was designed by Joseph Lindsay (later of Urquhart, Lindsay and Co) and completed in 1865. It is a 3-storey and attic mill of 23 bays. A prominent 5-bay central section features advanced quoins and a channelled ashlar ground floor with a large segmental arched cart entrance, its opening flanked by bold voussoirs and a keystone, and retains original ornate wooden gates. Two round-headed openings stand to each side. A band course runs across the elevation. The 1st floor windows sit in margins with aprons and consoled pediments. Two segmental windows on the 2nd floor are set in architraves with arched shell heads. A large pediment crowns the composition, featuring a dentil cornice, a carved foliated tympanum, and a shield dated 1865 inscribed with the cyphers of R, G and A Gilroy, with an apex acroterion. The 10-bay southern wing includes 2 advanced bays at its end, continuing a main cornice.

The south elevation of this block presents a 3-bay gable end with a large ground floor arched door (now converted to a window), 2 oculi, and a window in the gable head above the continuing cornice. An apex ball finial crowns the gable. A 7-bay extension along Guthrie Street was added between 1865 and 1871, maintaining 3-storey and attic proportions. The west gable is blank except for doors that formerly connected to the now-demolished Arch Mill.

North of the pediment lies an 1865 rebuild of an earlier 1830s mill, also 3-storey and attic, comprising 8 bays. This includes an engine house at the north end with a consoled pediment over a blocked window. The 1st floor contains a large window in architrave, formerly with a round arched head.

The North Block is a more substantial structure of 4-storey and attic with 35 bays overall, dominated by a 5-storey, 7-bay central section. It comprises three distinct parts:

The South Mill (1851) of 14 bays with 2 advanced quoined bays at each end. The west elevation was originally linked to the West Mill at 25 Brown Street via cast-iron spandrels at ground floor that formerly carried a connecting roof. The main cornice is continued on the south gable but cut by the 1865 mill roof above. An attic sash and case window and 2 oculi light the gable, crowned by a ball finial.

The Centre Mill (1863-4), a 5-storey, 7-bay structure with original wooden framed segmental-headed windows. It features 2 hoist doors on the 1st floor and continues the main cornice. The 4th floor windows are divided by pilasters with a cornice above. A small pediment displays the Dundee arms, with acroteria and urns completing the composition. The plinth formerly supported a statue of Minerva.

The North Mill (1863-4), similar in character to the 1851 South Mill, with a 3-bay north gable elevation. The ground floor adjoins Dudhope Works. The gable displays 2 oculi and a window in the gable head, capped by an apex ball finial.

The west elevation mirrors the east in character, except the South Block lacks a pediment. The main engine house features a tall round-headed 1st floor window above a blocked, consoled pedimented window at ground floor. The North Block has a simple oculus in its pediment with acroteria and urns. The ground floor of the North Mill originally provided access to weaving sheds through large openings under cast-iron lintels. Three wooden boxes project from the 2nd and 3rd floors to house hoists.

All windows are original sash and case pattern, multi-paned in the main mill blocks and 4-paned in the central sections, except the 2nd floor of the South Block which has later 2-paned sash and case windows. Two bipartite windows serve offices. Occasional hoist doors punctuate the elevations.

Interior: Each floor is divided into 2 rooms by tall cast-iron columns with flanged capitals that carry cast-iron beams and brick arches with wrought-iron ties. Various internal stairs, hoists, and gearing rooms with wall-boxes occupy the spaces. The main engine house contains wooden floors, stairs, and cast-iron features. The attics are spanned by fine single-span wrought-iron tie roofs, except for the central section of the North Block which employs perpendicular gothic cast-iron trusses supported on 2 rows of clustered columns.