Building record 2608/23 - Alma Mill, Crompton Road

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Summary

Grade II listed silk weaving mill, built 1823. It is brick with a Welsh slate roof. It is 3 storeys high with a basement. The internal structure comprises cast iron columns carrying timber beams. The mill was originally built for hand finishing or hand processing of silk, but an engine house (which no longer survives intact) was added to the mill by 1871. Macclesfield was one of two silk production centres in Cheshire. Silk buttons had been made here since Elizabethan times. Silk throwing (Twisting silk threads together) began as a domestic industry and became a mechanised process with the use of water powered machinery in the mid 18th century. The industrial revolution introduced power weaving in the late 19th century and many large mills were built at this time.

Map

Type and Period (3)

Full Description

Silk weaving mill, built 1823. Brick with Welsh slate roof. 3 storeys and basement, 8 x 3 bays. Gable faces street with stepped coping and flat roofed continuation to right over loading bays. Doorway in roll moulded archtrave to ground floor, loading doors with hoist above entrance. 3 windows in the gable, and a single light in the apex. Transomed windows with flat- arched brick heads. Privy tower a small angled projection from rear gable. Internal structure comprises cast iron columns carrying timber beams. The mill was originally built for hand finishing or hand processing of silk, but an engine house (which no longer survives intact) was added to the mill by 1871 (1).


<1> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 886-1/9/73 (Report). SCH1934.

<2> Calladine A & Fricker J, 1993, East Cheshire Textile Mills, /163 (Y) (Book). SCH1093.

<3> Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Revised List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Borough of Macclesfield 1994/ 50 (Unpublished Report). SCH4570.

Sources/Archives (3)

  • <1> Report: Department of the Environment. 1971-2005. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. N/A. 886-1/9/73.
  • <2> Book: Calladine A & Fricker J. 1993. East Cheshire Textile Mills. /163 (Y).
  • <3> Unpublished Report: Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Revised List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. Borough of Macclesfield 1994/ 50.

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

External Links (0)

Location

Grid reference SJ 910 735 (point) 8 Figure Ref
Map sheet SJ97SW
Civil Parish MACCLESFIELD NON PARISH AREA, MACCLESFIELD, CHESHIRE EAST
Historic Township/Parish/County MACCLESFIELD, PRESTBURY, CHESHIRE

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Record last edited

Oct 29 2003 2:00PM