Site Event/Activity record ECH6559 - Albion Mill, London Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire East: Historic Building Report

Building and photographic survey undertaken between April 2017 to February 2018 of part of grade II listed Albion Mill (CHER 2608/68), comprising the weaving shed extension dating to the 1850s which was added to north side of the original silk mill building that dates from 1843. The survey was done in advance of conversion of the weaving shed into residential apartments. The surveyed building consists of three elements: firstly, the two-storey weaving shed, an L-shaped block, seven bays wide by eleven bays deep, which wraps around the north and north-east sides of the original 1843 building; secondly, a two-storey latrine block added on the north side of the weaving shed probably in the 1860s; thirdly an L-shaped mid twentieth century, single-storey northlight extension to the north. The survey concludes that the significance of the weaving shed lies in its external form and streetscene presence, as the interior has been stripped of its machinery and has been in use as offices. However, the floors and roof structures, which are supported on cast iron columns, are considered of importance. Together with the adjacent London Road Mill, Albion Mill makes a powerful statement of Macclesfield's nineteenth century role as the world's foremost centre for producing finished silk. (1)