Description

SE 3456
KNARESBOROUGH

WATERSIDE
(south side)

8/206
25.3.83

Castle Mill: building to
north, (formerly listed
as Block A under Castle Mills
(consisting of blocks A to E))

II
GV

Mill building. Late C18 and C19. Coursed gritstone and brick in random
bond. Pantile and Westmorland slate roof. This block is situated along the
road side and follows the curve of the road. 3 storeys, 10 bays, with 2-
storey, 3-bay brick addition at north end, not of special interest. West
facade (towards river): ground-floor openings all boarded over; first floor:
6 sashes with glazing bars to left, 3 side-sliding sashes and a 16-pane sash
to right. Second floor: 11 square windows, most of 5 fixed panes. There is
a straight joint in the building between the 3 windows to right, and those
to left; the roofing is continuous. East (road) side: blocked openings at
ground-floor level. First-floor loading door, blocked windows to second
floor. South gable end: stone ground floor with blocked window. Wooden
lintel at first-floor level; upper 2 storeys brick. Second floor: boarded
2-light window with cambered header arch. Notice erected by Knaresborough
Historical Society: 'Castle Mill, built in 1791 as a cotton mill, soon
became the centre of the towns most thriving industry, the linen trade.
Linen was woven in this mill until 1972'. A sign-board above was erected by
Walton and Co who manufactured 'Knaresborough' linens. Low 2-storey brick
porch with board door, wooden lintel, and small square window links this
building with another range to south-west (q.v.). Interior not inspected.
This building is probably the new cotton mill opened in September 1791 after
an agreement to build one was drawn up between John and Charles Lomas, who
ran the paper mill and water-works on the site, and Robert Thornton, a
cotton spinner of Airton, near Skipton. The structure might previously have
been used as a paper mill, and adapted to new use shortly after November
1790 when a new water wheel was planned. Castle Mills was converted to flax
spinning for linen in 1811 and Walton and Company leased it in 1847 for yarn
spinning and power loom weaving, which took place in other buildings on the
site. Linen production ceased in 1972 and Walton left the site in 1984. E
Hargrove, The Castle, Town and Forest of Knaresborough, 1809, p 55. B
Jennings, Harrogate and Knaresborough, 1970, pp 264, 316, 321 and 438.

Listing NGR: SE3479156843

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26442742

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)