The Padiham Heritage Appraisal - Burnley Borough Council

Alma MillToday British Velvets occupies parts of the Daisyfield,Alma and Vale Mills sites. The shed to the right waspart of Daisyfield. The converted beam engine houseis in the centre along with the warehouse block andweaving shed of Alma Mill. To the left is a modernshed, which occupies the Vale Mill site.The 1983 shed, which replaced Vale Mill’s weavingshed, lies on the same building line.5.3.13 Bowers Birtwistle built the Alma weaving mill in 1854 (PlanC). In 1899 the mill was enlarged and a new boiler house, engineand chimney were constructed. In 1957 the mill was sold to K.Raymakers and Sons Ltd who continued to use it to produce arange of textiles. In 1979 the company expanded and built a newwarehouse on the former Commercial Mill site (see 5.3.20) and anew weaving shed on the Lily/ Vale Mill site (see 5.3.14). By 2001British Velvets had taken over use of the buildings and now theAlma is the last remaining textile mill to still be operating in Padiham(Rothwell, 2005, p.14). Most of the original exterior of Alma Millremains today. This includes the single beam engine house andweaving shed complete with north lights. The attached three-storeywarehouse/ preparation department has been converted into offices.Lily of the Valley or Vale Mill5.3.14 W. and J. Horne along with Taylor built the Lily of the Valleyor Vale Mill, in 1854 (Plan C). In 1855 Henry Helm of Grove Millbought the shed and continued to run it until 1890 (see 5.3.10).After the mill closed in 1894 it was purchased and reopened bythe Padiham Co-operative Society for use as stables, stores anda slaughterhouse and remained in their ownership until the 1950s.Weaving in the mill began again in 1954 and continued until the1980s when the shed was purchased by K. Raymakers and SonsLtd who demolished it and built a new one in 1983 (Rothwell,2005, pp. 12 & 13). British Velvets has taken over use of the 1983weaving shed and have incorporated it into their complex. Thesesheds form part of a continuous wall, which stretches down WyreStreet, forming a tight enclosed built perimeter around the industrialcomplex.Albert MillConnected to Albert Mill’s spinning block are a formerengine house and a building, which may once havebeen the boiler house. A garage now occupies thissection.5.3.15 In 1854-55 William Ingham founded the Albert Mill. The firstbuilding was a three-storey mule-spinning mill to which a weavingshed was added in 1870. (Plan C). Further enlargements weremade in 1877 and 1881. In 1926-7 spinning at Albert Mill ceasedand by 1948 only 20 looms were running. The 1854-55 three storeyspinning block located at the junction of Wyre Street and FleetwoodRoad is currently vacant and in need of restoration work (PlanF). The block is constructed from coursed sandstone rubble andcontains three gables and ten bays, each with long rectangularwindows. A number of the window openings have been closedunsympathetically with breezeblocks. Unfortunately, all that remainsof the 1870s weaving shed located to the rear of the spinning blockis its outer wall. This wall adjoins Holmes Street and is constructedfrom coursed sandstone rubble and forms part of the continuouswall, which stretches down Wyre Street, Holmes Street and LuneStreet. Located at the end of Fleetwood Road is a warehouse andyarn preparation block. At the boundary of the mill wall is a formerstable block and two storey smithy with a brick gable end. Bothappear to be vacant (Rothwell, 2005, pp. 13 & 14).The outer stone perimeter of Albert Mill, HolmesStreet44 heritage appraisal