A Victorian spinning mill once used to hold prisoners of war and a church designed by the same architect who created Manchester's Whitworth Art Gallery are in danger of demolition. The buildings have been added to an at risk register created by SAVE Britain's Heritage group.
Oakwood Mill in Stalybridge is nestled in overgrown trees on the edge of a village with a splendid backdrop of hillside. The neglected Moss Side Unitarian Free Church and School is in Old Trafford.
Both face the wrecking ball unless action is taken soon to protect them. SAVE aim to persuade local authorities to join them in securing a new future for the buildings.
The mill, is in Grenville Street on the outskirts of the village of Millbrook between Stalybridge and Mossley and four miles from Ashton-under-Lyne.
SAVE says despite being a Grade II listed building and within a conservation area "the building is currently in a sorry state." It dates from 1856 and was built as a four-storey specialised spinning mill for the Staley Mill Company.
Built with millstone grit, it also had a Welsh slate roof. In the centre of the site is a clocktower with the date 1857 on its front. An engine house, which contains white glazed bricks inside, that was constructed in 1908. A large chimney stack still stands on the site.
In 1937, the company sold off most of the machinery for £13,000, and it stood vacant for some time, until the Second World War, when it was used to hold Italian prisoners. Cotton spinning ceased in 1961 and the mill was put to use for a while by Dukinfield Bleaching Co., a bleaching and dyeing company. The mill was given its listed status in November 1991.
SAVE says : "As of 2022, the mill is severely dilapidated, after suffering major damage in 2018. Three floors unfortunately gave way on Friday, 9th February 2018, due to heavy rain collecting on a build-up of ice on the roof.
"Despite residents saying they felt an earthquake, fortunately much of the falling brickwork and masonry landed in the mill’s yard. Serious intervention needs to take place for this building to be made structurally sound before progress towards reuse can be considered. If the building is left for much longer, the mill will continue to deteriorate to a point where it is beyond saving."
The Moss Side Unitarian school and hall in Shrewsbury Street, Old Trafford, were constructed 1892 and the attached church was added in 1901. It was designed by JW and RF Beaumont, a prominent Manchester architectural firm whose designs include the Whitworth Art Gallery.
The cost of the school building and land was £3,900. The church was largely funded by an 1899 bequest from William Roberts, a member of the congregation, who also funded the statue of William Gladstone which stands in Manchester’s Albert Square.
SAVE says; "The school and church are well-detailed throughout externally. Together they comprise a symmetrical composition with a central courtyard between the school and church and a tall tower element to the church. A large centrally sited gable with Gothic window and terracotta tracery served a large school room at first floor. At ground floor were a series of classrooms. The roof is a steeply pitched roof clad with Burlington slate."
"A tower on the church is decorated with terracotta mouldings, Gothic windows and lucernes. It is a distinctive landmark in views along Shrewsbury Street and Upper Chorlton Road and a typical feature of many Unitarian chapels in the second half of the 19th century."
The buildings became disused in 1947 and the church was marked as a ruin on the 1955 Ordnance Survey map, by which time the school building had become an ex-servicemen’s club serving the large Polish immigrant community.. The church was used as a warehouse, while the Polish Ex-Servicemen’s club operated until the early 2000s.
SAVE warns: "Both buildings have now been vacant for almost 20 years and are rapidly deteriorating, with extensive vegetation growth to the roof and tower."
The submission of a Prior Notification for the demolition of both buildings in late 2020 prompted Trafford Council to submit a full listing application to Historic England. However, this was rejected, with the listing report in January last year noting: “Although too altered to recommend for listing, this building is clearly of strong local interest for its muscular composition, richly detailed brick frontages and prominent, decorative tower.
"The school and church are well-detailed throughout externally, and are an excellent example of the achievement of elaborate decorative effect using mass-production techniques. The connections with William Roberts, the Unitarian denomination and the Beaumont partnership are of considerable local interest.”
The Council refused the Prior Notification and are looking at other options, such as local listing and an order to remove future permitted development rights.
