Lister's Mill
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Lister Mills (otherwise known as Manningham Mills) was the largest
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
factory in the world. It is located in the Manningham district of
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
, England and was built by Samuel Cunliffe Lister to replace the original Manningham Mills which had been destroyed by fire in 1871. The mill is a Grade II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, built in the
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
style of
Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...
.


History

On completion in 1873, Lister's was the largest
textile mill Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...
in the north of England. Floor space in the mill amounts to , and its imposing shape remains a dominant feature of the
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
skyline. The chimney of the mill is high, and can be seen from most areas of Bradford. It cost about £10,000 to build, and its total weight has been estimated at . Samuel Lister called it "Lister's Pride". Until the arrival of electric power in 1934, the mill was driven by steam engines. Every week the boilers consumed 1,000 tons of coal brought in on company rail wagons from the company collieries near
Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...
. Water was also vital in the process and the company had its own supply network including a large covered reservoir on-site (by 2006 that area had become a piazza and underground car park). At its height, Lister's employed 11,000 men, women and children – manufacturing high-quality
textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
such as
velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...
and silk. It supplied of velvet for
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
's coronation and in 1976 new velvet curtains for the President Ford
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Lister's produced of real parachute silk, of flame-proof wool, of khaki battledress and of parachute cord. A strike in 1890–91 at the mill was important in the establishment of the
Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...
which later helped found the modern-day Labour Party.


Decline and Rebirth

The Listers' business decreased considerably during the 1980s. Stiff foreign competition and changing
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
trends such as increased use of
artificial fibre Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants like cotton or ...
s were the reasons. In 1999, the mills were closed. Being a prominent structure, the mills attracted a great deal of attention and several regeneration proposals came and went. The sheer size of the buildings being a major difficulty. In 2000, property regeneration company
Urban Splash Urban Splash is a UK-based Real estate development, property development business. It was founded in 1993 by chairman Tom Bloxham and creative director Jonathan Falkingham. Headquartered in Castlefield, Manchester, it also has regional bases in ...
bought Lister Mills from the administrators,
Ernst and Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms. The EY network is composed of member firms ...
, with plans to renovate the silk warehouse. Costs for the project were estimated to be £100 million. Renovation work began in 2003, and construction formally began in September 2004. 131 new homes and 3 ground floor commercial units were subsequently completed in the large buildings. Construction was finished in 2006, but evidently left a majority of the site unmaintained. The second phase was the regeneration of the largest building on the site, the velvet mill, by replacing the existing roof of the building with a glass and steel structure, housing two storey apartments and creating additional ground floor commercial spaces, whilst preserving original architectural features under the design of David Morley Architects. The new homes went on sale in early 2007.


See also

*
Grade II* listed buildings in Bradford There are over 20,000 Grade II* listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the metropolitan borough of Bradford in West Yorkshire. List of buildings ...
*
Listed buildings in Bradford (Toller Ward) Toller is a Ward (electoral subdivision), ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It contains 16 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for ...
* Bliss Tweed Mill *
Salts Mill Salts Mill (sometimes spelled Salt's Mill) is a former textile mill, now incorporating an art gallery, shops, restaurant, and spaces to rent in Saltaire, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was commissioned and financed by Sir Titus Salt and ...


References


External links


Manningham Regeneration website
* {{Bradford Textile mills in Bradford Silk mills Manningham, Bradford Former textile mills in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in West Yorkshire Grade II* listed industrial buildings