Details
679/4/425 DEAN CLOUGH
07-APR-82 DEAN CLOUGH
D Mill
(Formerly listed as:
OLD LANE
DEAN CLOUGH
DEAN CLOUGH MILLS, E AND F BLOCK)
(Formerly listed as:
OLD LANE
DEAN CLOUGH
CROSSLEY MILLS, E AND F BLOCK)
GV II
Warehouse then mill, 1854, 1872, 1888 with late C19 and C20 alterations and additions, by Roger Ives for Crossley and Sons, in hammer dressed stone with part slate roofs and part corrugated metal roofs.
PLAN: it is aligned north-south and has 6 storeys plus basement. It is 6 bays wide and 32 bays long.
EXTERIOR: There is a modillion cornice and parapet with pilaster strips throughout. Glazing has been renewed. The west elevation has 20 windows in the original (1854) northern end, with taking-in doors (now windows) in the third bay from the left with rusticated ashlar dressings, and a variety of entrances on the ground floor including arched single doors with rusticated ashlar dressings and keystone in the 8th and 14th bays, and a cart entrance in the 7th bay. To the south the 1872 section has 10 windows with an entrance in a widened first (northern) bay with rusticated ashlar dressings, segmental arched lintel, bracketed cornice and scrolled pediment with a central circular mirror. At the southern end a wide cart entrance with a segmental arch and decorative iron lintel bearing the date AD 1872, occupies 2 bays; this was the access for railway wagons. The second floor windows are larger and have rusticated ashlar dressings and a projecting string above marking the original height of the building. To the right (south) the final two bays have an entrance to the left and 2 covered footbridges linking to 'E' Mill at second and sixth floors. The lower one is dated 1956.
Ground levels to the east vary considerably, so that the basement level to the west is above ground to the east, but the ground is higher to the north so that the north end is 3 storeys to the west and 4 to the east. There are 6 bays across the main building which to the north is topped by the gable end of a later roof. To the south 3 covered walkways at different heights connect across Dean Clough Road to 'G' Mill; the lowest of these is of timber construction with king post trusses.
The east elevation has an external toilet tower at the southern end of the 1854 building. This has three round-headed windows to the east, two to the south, with string courses and a continuation of the cornice and parapet. The top two floors extend out to the right (north) for 3 bays, with 5 small windows on each floor, the whole supported on an iron framework below. A metal enclosed footbridge connects 'D' Mill to Bowling Dyke Mill at the top floor level at the 11th bay from the north (not of special interest). The two extensions of 1872 and 1888 match the west side. The lower floors on the east side are hidden behind later extensions dating to the last 20 years of the C19. A 3 storey building of 8 bays occupies the centre: this has a later flat roof replacing a north light roof. A lower 3 bay 2 storey section to the north has a pitched roof. This is abutted by a brick construction linking to the lift shaft at the western end of Bowling Dyke Mill (not of special interest). To the southern end of 'D' Mill are further extensions including a 2 storey building with carriage entrances to the south onto Dean Clough Road and a pyramidal roof, extending beyond a pent roof building which is now the main entrance to 'D' Mill.
INTERIOR: The interior of 'D' Mill has been converted to office spaces, galleries, reception area, shop, café, restaurant and a cooking school. The joint between the main building and the extensions to the east is visible in an exposed former external wall and a change in floor levels, those to the east being at a lower level than those in the main building. The main staircase, cast iron columns and brick jack arches survive on all floors in the main building, though concealed in some areas. The eastern extension has columns supporting heavy steel joists to the ceilings. At basement level, the main building links to the theatre beneath 'E' Mill through a passage beneath the current road level.
HISTORY: John Crossley leased a water-powered mill at Dean Clough from the Waterhouse family in 1822, but he and his brothers had been carrying out worsted spinning and dyeing there since 1802. The mill stood at the eastern end of a mill dam formed from a leat from the Hebble Brook which runs to the south of the site. From 1841 onwards the Crossley family began building a series of engine powered spinning mills and weaving sheds at Dean Clough, used in the manufacture of carpets for which they became famous.
The ground on which 'D' Mill stands was purchased by Crossley's after 1836, where they built a gasworks, stables and dyehouses. 'D' Mill was built in 1854 and occupied the north-west corner of this piece of land. It was probably the first building at Dean Clough that was designed by Roger Ives, a local architect who went on to work for the Crossleys for most of the rest of the century. It was also the first to use fireproof construction. The lack of evidence for a steam engine and the presence of cart entrances suggests that it may have been a warehouse rather than a spinning mill.
In 1870 the dyehouse and drying house in this area were demolished and 'D' Mill was extended to the south in 1872. A steam engine was installed and an arched entrance permitted railway wagons to be loaded within. Initially of 3 storeys, it was raised in 1888 to 4 storeys. Between 1880 and 1900 the gasworks and remaining dyeworks to the east of 'D' Mill were removed and an extension added to the east side of the building.
In the C20, with the removal of the steam engine, two further bays were added to the south and the whole extension raised to the same height as the original building.
Continuing development in the C20 finally ended in 1982 when final carpet production ceased after a gradual run-down following the merger of John Crossley & Sons with Carpet Trade Holdings and the Carpet Trades Manufacturing Company of Kidderminster.
Reasons for Designation
'D' Mill at Dean Clough, Halifax, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Industrial complex: It is part of the integrated complex of mill structures at Dean Clough for the manufacture of carpets in the C19 and C20
* Architecture: It is the first building on the site to be designed by Roger Ives and shows all the characteristic hallmarks of his designs, including a modillion cornice and parapet with pilaster strips concealing the roof, that he used at Dean Clough and elsewhere
* Original features: It retains significant original features including taking-in doors, brick jack arches and cast iron columns
* Historic interest: it illustrates the growth and development of the Dean Clough complex in the changes the building has undergone throughout the C19 and C20
Listing NGR: SE0912425758
