Hope Mill, Manchester: Textile Mill Survey
Hope Mill was identified during the early stages of the Greater Manchester Textile Mill Survey in 1986, but its significance was not assessed until an internal inspection was carried out as part of a Listing Review of the Ancoats area by English Heritage in 2001. It was probably built in 1824 as an integrated fustian mill. The main block of the mill is intact and at the time of writing is one of the best-preserved early 19th-centiry textile mills in Manchester, although a variety of ancillary buildings have been demolished. In most respects it is representative of the large size, narrow plan and steam-power systems of the dozens of textile mills built in and around Manchester in the early 19th century, of which only a very small number now survive. It is of fireproof construction, with brick-vaulted ceilings supported by cast-iron beams and columns which are typical of the period, but is distinguished by the unusual survival of a fireproof cast- and wrought-iron roof. The roof is representative of an innovative type of early iron roof which is of exceptional interest. Survey and close inspection has revealed that it is a larger and more sophisticated example of the contemporary roof at nearby Beehive Mill, Ancoats (NBR 53329), and has notable similarities with other early examples in the Manchester area which do not survive.
- Report Number:
- 181/2002
- Series:
- Other
- Pages:
- 19
- Keywords:
- Standing Building Architectural Investigation
