| Summary : County Brook Mill, originally Hey Mill, was probably built as a water-powered textile mill in the late 18th century. It was sold as a cotton mill with four adjoining cottages in 1842, was in ruins in 1844 but by 1877 at the latest had been repaired and was producing cloth. This mill, of stone, was three storeys high and five bays long with an internal end waterwheel chamber fed from two mill dams. At the end of the 19th century the mill appears to have been a corn mill but in 1906 or 1907 it was taken over by William Mitchell for warp dressing and then cotton weaving. The mill, its water wheel supplemented by an auxiliary steam engine and boiler, was full to capacity during the 1920s and a weaving shed was built downhill from it, in four stages, to designs by R S Pilling made in 1927, 1929, 1933 and 1935. The complete weaving shed, powered from the water wheel and its own diesel engine, eventually also from an electric motor, is single storeyed with a weft room under one part and has a saw- tooth roof. The old mill came to be used entirely for warehousing but additional capacity was added in 1935 and later. The original four one-room, three-storey back- to-back cottages were extended in the late 19th century but during the 20th century gradually converted into offices and storage space. |
| More information : County Brook Mill was built as a water-powered textile mill before 1732, as it is mentioned in the Barnoldswick Manorial Court Proceedings of that year. Its primary power source was Whitemoor Stream in connection with Earby Beck. At the time of the Proceedings it probably functioned as a corn mill, but changed its function due to its location and the general trend of the time. It was sold as a cotton mill with four adjoining cottages in 1842, and bore the name of Hey Mill. It passed from William Wood and Betty Hartley into the hands of William and John Midgley of Colne, being powered by a waterwheel and an additional steam engine and boiler. The construction of White Moor Reservoir probably affected the mill in a negative way, its waterpower becoming rather irregular. It might have served for the “stewing†of bark in the mid-nineteenth century, the final product being liquor for printing or dyeing. It is possible that one of its names, Stew Mill derives from this production activity, and in 1862, when it was up for sale it is mentioned as functioning as a dye works, having changed hands from Edmund Riley to John Midgely. Henry Sagar, quarry owner and Samuel and William Sagar, farmers, in Foulridge, are listed as working the mill in 1887. It then moved into the tenancy of Robert Foulds of Colne who used it for weaving, and it was taken over by William Sagar in 1883, when Foulds removed to Colne. Sagar only operated as many as 30 looms at a time, and there is no evidence for its functioning in the textile industry between 1889 and 1906. William Mitchell brought his business to County Brook Mill in 1907, using it for warp dressing and later for cotton weaving. The Mitchell family still owns the mill in the present day. It converted to steam power in 1908. The number of looms increased over the years, from 36 in 1910 to 50 in the 1920s, until in 1927 the existing weaving shed was extended so the mill could hold a total of 200 looms. A new weaving shed was erected in 1928 as the increasing number of looms, totalling to 200 required further shed capacity. The new shed had a single storey, and further sheds were built in 1930: to the west, holding 70 looms, an in 1933 and 1936 two further sheds were built against the two first ones and the total capacity rose to 400 looms. According to the SMR these weaving sheds were built to designs by R S Pilling. The last mill had an electric engine as its power source, and adjacent cottages were converted into warehouse space, gaining additional space through the extension of the old mill's second and third storeys. The mill company changed its name from William Mitchell and Sons to County Brook Mill Company Ltd. around the same time. In 1963 the mill was weaving – on commission only – deck chair and narrow awnings, Palm Beach cloths, splits and plastic fabrics on 400 looms. The number of looms was reduced to 300 in the 1970s but the mill is still in operation today and the company is called Mitchell Interflex Ltd. The site is shown on the OS first edition 1:10,560 map. Condition: Occupied. (1) |