The Stanley Mills woollen mill at Ryeford, near Stonehouse,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England was built in the early 19th century. The main building is

Grade I listed 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 ...

History

There had been mills on the site for many years but the current mill was built in 1813 and expanded around 1825. The mill was powered by water in the River Frome. A lodge house was built for the owners in 1815, at the same time as some ancillary buildings for storage and supply of the mill. It was originally owned by Joseph Wathen who sold it to George Harris and Donald Maclean in 1813 during construction. From 1842, it was owned by the Marling family and their business became a public company known as Marling and Evans in 1920. The mill was originally powered by five waterwheels. A steam engine was added in 1834. In 1854, a power loom shed was added. In 1884, a fire broke out damaging the roof, but most of the structure survived with minimal damage. Production at the mill ceased in the 1980s. The main building has been on

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

Heritage at Risk An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

Architecture

The

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

framing within the L-shaped five-storey main building consists of columns and trusses which hold up red brick vaults proving space for the machinery in what was designed to be a fireproof building. The ironwork came from the

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

casting works of Bejamin Gibbon and the bricks from the

London Brick Company The London Brick Company, owned by Forterra plc, is a leading United Kingdom, British manufacturer of bricks. History The London Brick Company owes its origins to John Cathles Hill, a developer-architect who built houses in London and Peterbo ...

. The materials were transported by water, finishing with the

Stroudwater Canal The Stroudwater Navigation is a canal in Gloucestershire, England which linked Stroud, Gloucestershire, Stroud to the River Severn. It was authorised in 1776, although part had already been built, as the proprietors believed that an Act of Pa ...

. The lodge, which was built for the mill owners, has

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

brickwork with

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

dressings. Various ancillary buildings were built of similar materials. The stone power loom shed is of four storeys and is supported on limestone pillars spanning the river.

References

External links

* {{Commons category inline, Stanley Mills, King's Stanley Grade I listed buildings in Gloucestershire Grade I listed water mills Buildings and structures completed in 1813 Stroud District Watermills in Gloucestershire