East Mill, Stanley Mills

East Mill, part of Stanley Mills, was initially built in the 1790s as a flax and cotton mill. It was destroyed by fire in 1799 and rebuilt between approximately 1802 and 1809. The mill was substantially rebuilt and enlarged between about 1823 and 1829, and the upper floors were reconstructed following a fire in 1848, with the building being complete by 1855. A single-storey brick addition was made to the west around 1900, and a five-story building with a basement and attic was extended northwards by 2 bays and 16 bays.

The east elevation is 20 bays wide, with a basement towards the south marked by a string course likely dating from the 1790s or between 1802 and 1809, referencing similarities to Bell Mill. A segmental arched opening at the first position of a waterwheel is present, with a later blocked window in the sixth bay from the south. Waterwheels were relocated to the north in the 1820s when the mill expanded; the arched concrete structures housing the wheels were built when the wheels became obsolete in 1921. Features include a header pond, an iron sluice gate, and a rubble-built arch leading to a culvert.

The west elevation exhibits similar treatment of the south basement (with a tail-race culverted under the Mid Mill). Three north-lit sheds were added to the north, without damaging the original wall. The southernmost bay incorporates a cotton store basement located on the site of the original wheelhouse. A gable on the west has toothed detail, apparently intended to accommodate a mill extension that was never built. A later 19th-century lift tower, originally partly glazed and now harled, has been converted into foremen’s offices. A later brick lift shaft is also present.

The north gable is two bays wide, with a recess on the right-hand side for an incomplete mill extension. A modern ground floor loading bay is now in place. The south gable is largely blank, with only two ground floor windows, and blocked doors indicating the former location of a stair tower at each level, which were removed when the extension was built, along with a new stair. A modern lean-to addition is present at ground level.

The roof is gabled and piended to the north, covered in slate. The windows are sash and case with a 16-pane glazing pattern, although some have been altered.

Internally, the mill has timber floors supported by a single central row of cylindrical cast-iron columns. The basement is reinforced by two rows of cast-iron pipes. A Jilkes turbine seating remains from 1879. Ground, first, and second floors retain original cross-beams. The third floor has cross-beams supported on timber pads across the northern six bays, with a longitudinal beam to the south, and similar construction exists on the fourth floor (likely rebuilt after the 1848 fire). The roof is plastered with collar beams. A small side room, featuring flagstone landings along a lengthwise cast-iron beam and columns with decorative spandrels, is located four bays north. The single-storey northwest extension has timber roofs, with replaced steel columns.

The layout suggests it was designed for mule-spinning of cotton. While some ironwork postdates 1823, it is possible that more of the mill’s structure originates from the original 1802-9 construction than currently indicated. Modern machinery is present, with dismantled reels located on the upper floors. Responses to Factory Commission Enquiries in 1833 indicated that part of the East Mill was erected approximately 33 years prior (i.e., circa 1800), and that the remaining parts of the mill and other buildings (excluding the Brick Mill) were built by the current owners after 1823.