31/03/2026
Good evening me ducks!
A sad one today unfortunately; over the weekend Leek lost one of its largest pieces of architectural history - the monolithic “Big Mill”, due to a devastating fire, which has meant the whole building has had to be demolished.
The mill was originally built in 1857, designed by renowned architect Larner Sugden (an absolute belter of an Industrial Architect) and originally tenanted by Joseph Broster of William Broster and Co. In 1867 Henry Wardle, who was the landlord of the Britannia tavern on West Street in Leek partnered up with George Davenport, a silk throwster, and formed Wardle and Davenport. Their first manufacturers was based on West Street, but moved to part of the Big Mill in 1872 alongside William Broster & Co and Frederick Hammersley & Co.
In 1888, after both Henry Wardle and George Davenport retired, the company that had continued to be run by George Davenports brother Henry, partnered up with a W.H.Rider and purchased the mill as a whole from W.A.L.Hammersley. By 1899 Henry Davenport had died, and his son Fred took over his stake in the partnership. Also that year, the company officially registered as a limited company, which it continued to be known as until they went into recievership in 1970.
In 1920, the mill was enlarged and in 1925 the western end was rebuilt as an office block, both designs drawn by architect R.T. Longden. During its years of manufacture, the company became the first in Britain to make artificial stockings using the new material Rayon, and honed in on mercerised cotton production as a subsidiary company founded in 1912 called Peri-Lusta Ltd. continuing to manufacture mercerised cotton at the Big Mill well into 1990’s.
Although I’m not a native to Leek, living locally since July last year has meant that all these wonderful new local buildings have become part of my everyday life and surroundings, and the Big Mill was one of those “you know you are home when you see ____” places. Everyone here (hopefully) knows how much I love my architecture, especially Victorian and Georgian era, so its always heartbreaking to me when one of these wonderful institutions gets left derelict or has to come down for safety. The history behind the building and the companies that worked in these buildings is always fascinating and should never be forgotten.
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