Report - Newsome Mills, Huddersfield - August 2012

[tweek]

Newsome Mills, Huddersfield - August 2012

Nipped into this mill while walking through Newsome recently. Not expecting much to be left inside, I made my way up to the clocktower to sample the views. Obviously this mill has seen better days, but it is a bit of an icon in Huddersfield as you can see it from all over the town centre high upon the hill. I didn't have a tripod or anything with me though, so I apologise for that.

History

Newsome Mill was owned by the firm of Taylor and Littlewood from its opening in 1827 until it closed in 1983. The declining use of suits as an essential part of a man’s wardrobe and the collapse of the Japanese economy, an important export market for Taylor and Littlewood, were in part responsible for the closure.

The original mill building is a prominent feature of the Huddersfield skyline and has Grade II listed building status. In 2008 it was included on the Victorian Society’s list of ten most endangered Victorian buildings in Britain.

Newsome Mill was pioneering, in that it was not sited near running water. It was steam powered from the beginning. Rain water running off Castle Hill was piped to the mill for processes such as scouring.

Newsome Mills stands right at the heart of the village of Newsome (in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England). Newsome grew up around it. The main four storey mill building towers over Newsome and its residents. It can be seen on the hillside from all over Huddersfield. I grew up in the shadow of this mill. Every day it looks down on us from its great height, through the broken faces of its landmark clock tower. It stands silent, waiting for something to change.

The Newsome Mills Campaign

Thanks,
tweek

​