Report (Permission Visit) Imperial Mill, Blackburn September 2015

dweeb · Sep 5, 2015

Visit with Host, cheers for sorting this out mate...

Imperial Mill is a red brick ring mill of dignified proportions, early C20 opened 1901. 3 and 4 storeys, with string courses and pilasters. It was designed by Sydney Stott. It has a long rectangular plan, 17 bays long and 5 bays wide, with rows of large close-set 8-pained windows. It was surmounted by two copper covered domed towers.The centrally located engine-house projects at right angle towards the canal, with 6 round-arched windows on the long sides, and 2 Gothic-traceried round-arched windows canal end. There is a staircase tower on north angle, with round-arched grouped windows on top floor. The chimney was free standing

The industry produced 8 billion yards of cloth at its peak in 1912. The great war of 1914- 1918 halted the supply of raw cotton, and the British government encouraged its colonies to build mills to spin and weave cotton. Certain towns were harder hit, as they had specialized in forms of cotton that were only required in markets where the link had been severed. The war over, Lancashire never regained its markets. The independent mills were struggling. The Bank of England set up the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1929 to attempt to rationalize and save the industry.[8] Imperial Mill, Blackburn was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived through to 1950. It was taken over be Courtaulds and spinning stopped in 1980. The chimney was demolished but the mill survived, though by 2008 it had been unoccupied for 15 years, the council is trying to see it refurbished.

The mill today is in use on the ground floor but the vast majority of it stands as it did the day Courtaulds left in the 80's. It seems the workers are battling with the elements to keep the weather out, which is a tough job when the roof is bigger than a football pitch and the building has over 500 windows! The top floor still has the dust extraction system in situ along with signage and other bits and bobs from Courtauld's days.

Once again the main event was the engine hall, which originally housed a a triple expansion engine manufactured in the town by Yates and Thom. The whole interior is lavishly tiled in an unusual colour scheme for a cotton mill engine hall. You have to admire the craftsmanship of both the tile manufacturers and the tilers, as not only is the spacing literally perfect on every wall, but over a hundred years later and with water dribbling down the wall the tiles are still stuck tight! It was interesting to see that in the worse condition parts of the hall the salt was seeping from within the tile through the crazing on the glaze.

Quite sad to see it just rotting away, but the owners don't really have much of a use for it so it's only going to fall further into disrepair as the years pass by...

Cheers to the guy who spent the better part of his morning at work wandering around with us!