Building record 2887/54 - Site of Vale Mill, Priesty Fields, Early Nineteenth Century Silk Mill

<1> Calladine A & Fricker J, 1993, East Cheshire Textile Mills, p. 39, 59, 162 (Book). SCH1093.

Three firms were manufacturing ribbons in Congleton in 1822, including Gent and Norbury at Vale Mill. The Water wheel was housed externally.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.

On Ordnance Suurvey 1st edition maps (sources 2 and 3).

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1881-2, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 6 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire (Maps and Plans). SCH2474.

<4> Miller, G, 2009, Vale Mill, Congleton, Desk Based Assessment, July 2009, R2916 (Client Report). SCH5195.

A desk-based assessment was undertaken for Vale Mill, Priesty fields, Congleton, in 2009, in advance of proposed development. The mill was founded in 1822, during a period of expansion for the Congleton silk industry lasting from 1820 to 1824. The mill was initially involved with the manufacture of ribbon and silk, but by 1830 had turned to silk production only. It appears to have been relatively successful surviving the depresstion of the late 1830s and becoming one of only 15 mills to avoid closure by 1840. Despite the decline of the silk industry that began in the 1860s, production continuted into the middle of the following decade, but by the 1890s it had switched to fustian cutting, which last until the Second World War.

The mill was sited in the valley of the Howty Brook, which was dammed to form a reservoir, and was powered by an external water wheel of the overshot type. By 1873, it had been converted to steam power. The complex comprised a long, narrow, four-storey, brick-built mill, along with ancilliary buildings grouped in courtyard formation. Additional buildings were constructed around 1927. In terms of industrial archaeology, Vale Mill is a significant building locally.

<5> Garry Miller: Architectural Historian, 2018, Vale Mill, Congleton, Cheshire East: Historic Building Report, R4263 (Client Report). SCH8615.

An historic building survey (level 2) was undertaken in 2018 for Vale Mill, prior to its demolition and re-development. The original mill was a narrow, rectangular, four-storey structure that was altered and extended in the mid-twentieth century, essentially leaving a shell of the former building. No trace of the original external water wheel survived, this originally was powered by a leat from the dammed Howty Brook. The twentieth century internal alteration also removed evidence of the power transmission systems of the mill.