Description

BRADFORD ON AVON

875/0/10013 New Mills (buildings 72-75), Kingston
28-JUN-05 Mills

II

Former woollen mill complex of mid C19; altered c.1900 for rubber production. Coursed rubble stone with slate roof. Long rectangular plan. First phase of building comprised a four-storeyed range of eight bays with a single-storeyed extension of seven bays at south end. Shortly after 1869 the extension was raised to the same height as the original range, creating a four-storeyed range of fifteen bays. At the same time, an adjoining three storey transverse building with a hipped roof was attached at the southern end. A further addition to the rear was built before 1885 and is thought to have contained an integral engine house.
EXTERIOR: The mill building is in two parts with the adjoining transverse building at the southern end. The main elevation faces west onto Silver Street. North section: of eight bays with an attic and a full-height external stair tower attached to the centre of the north end. Fenestration comprises small two-light flat-headed windows with square mullions and ashlar jambs. Each light is divided into three panes by two narrow horizontal glazing bars. The sixth bay from the north end has circular headed loading doors in the second and third storeys, surmounted by a triangular pediment carrying the date `1869' on an ashlar band. Rear (east) elevation has similar windows to front, but a number are blocked. Cross-shaped metal braces to main floor joists are visible. South section: of seven bays incorporates an earlier single-storey building with segmental-headed windows, whilst the upper floors are of similar construction and fenestration to those of the 1869 section, although the side elevations have larger tie-plates. The loading doors are similar to the northern section. Several of the original loading doors have been replaced with C20 double-width or sliding doors. The chimney that served the engine house and boiler house on the ground floor has been removed, but is indicated by the absence of windows in the second bay from the south end. Rear elevation also has a bay without windows that corresponds to the former position of a second chimney. Transverse building: has a hipped, slate roof and two tall flat-headed windows to front and rear elevations. The west elevation has two segmental-headed windows with top hung casements, a tall, twelve pane window at first floor and a square window on the second floor. To blocked round headed openings are visible either side of the first floor window. The window openings on the rear elevation are similar, with a lean-to building attached at ground floor level. The south elevation is obscured by the adjacent north-lit workshops which are not of special interest. There is a blocked segmental-headed window at first floor and a further one on the second floor with a doorway to the right, accessed via a metal fire escape.
INTERIOR: North section: the roof comprises timber principals mounted on sole plates; two ranks of butt purlins are attached to the principals with cast iron brackets. The floors are of conventional joisted construction and the timber beams are supported by a single row of columns with four-sided bolting faces. Externally, the positions of the floor beams are indicated by small cast iron tie plates. Bolt holes in the beams indicate that various arrangements of line shafting may have been used in the mill. The floors are entered from the stair well by a wide segmental-headed door on each landing. Some alterations have occurred to the ground floor, including the insertion of RSJs that support the timber floor above. South section: the roof is of king-post construction with angled struts and there is no separate attic. The floors are at different levels to those of the 1869 mill and are reached from it by flights of steps. An internal wooden staircase is located in the south east corner of the building and a lift shaft has been installed up to the third floor. Transverse building: the internal walls are whitewashed and a wooden staircase provides access to the other floors. Sources indicate that the building was converted to a boiler house in the early C20 and housed to boilers, now removed.
HISTORY: The woollen trade in Bradford on Avon was certainly well established by the end of the medieval period. However a series of trade depressions during the early C19 affected the town's economy and led to a decline in cloth manufacturing. New Mills forms the western end of the extensive complex of industrial and commercial buildings, formerly known as Kingston Mills, on the north bank of the River Avon. It was originally built for the production of cloth; the first phase of the complex was built in 1869 by James Harper and Thomas Taylor who ran it as a woollen mill. Woollen production at the mill had ceased in 1898, shortly after which the empty factory was acquired by Spencer, Moulton and Co whose rubber factory occupied the adjacent Kingston Mills site. Rubber continued to be manufactured at the site until its closure in 1992.
ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE: New Mills is an interesting example of a C19 woollen mill complex with the great majority of its structure and plan remaining intact. Its later conversion and association with the rubber manufacturers Spencer Moulton adds to its historical significance. It is acknowledged that the mill complex also contributes significantly to the character of the town and it has good group value with the adjacent former rubber store.
SOURCES: `Kingston Mills, Bradford-on-Avon' (1999) George & Toni Demidowicz; `New Mills, Bradford-on-Avon' (1994) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671004

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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