Description and History of Site:-
Substantial six storey mill on the north bank of the Aire. Built by Markland, Cookson and Fawcett, cotton spinners, in 1791-2, to the design of John Sutcliffe of Halifax, originally as a water mill, but immediately changed to steam. Jonathan Cookson wrote in 1792 to Bolton and Watt: “We have built a very large and expensive water wheel ... but if I could be assured you'd erect a steam engine in three months, we would sustain the loss”.

This they did, a 30 hp engine was put up in 1796 and the water wheel offered for sale. Rebuilt on purchase by Hives and Atkinson in 1823, to become one of the largest flax spinning mills in Leeds. Eventually, the site developed to comprise 4 large mill buildings:

A mill, rebuilt 1824 after a fire. The original cotton mill. It had a 70 hp Fenton and Co. beam engine. (demolished)
B mill, built 1831-2, six stories high, with a 60 hp engine. (extant)
C mill, built 1836, with 3 engines, each of 30 hp. (demolished)
D mill, four stories high built 1856, with a 40 hp engine. (extant)

In 1866, Robert Tennant a partner in the firm of Hives and Atkinson was asked to give evidence to the Royal Commission of that year looking into the problem of river pollution. His replies to the Commissioners' questions tell much about the operation of these, and by inference other, flax mills at that time even though the focus of the inquiry was, naturally enough, on water use.

The company went out of business in 1882. Parts were sold to R. Varley, drysalter, and Roberts, Mart & Co., printers and paper manufacturers, whilst J. Crawford & Sons, of East Street Kills took the rest as warehousing. In 1914 the occupants were Roberts, Mart & Co., H. Leetham, corn miller, and the Worth Manufacturing Co., shirt manufacturers.

Further Reading and References:-
Giles, C and Goodall, I H. Yorkshire textile mills: the buildings of the Yorkshire textile industry 1770-1930. HMSO, 1992
Ward, M F. Industrial development and location in Leeds, north of the River Aire, 1775 to 1914. PhD thesis, University of Leeds, 1972.
http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=200295_7078188

Help us improve this entry

The compilers welcome corrections or additional information on all sites.
Any information provided will be verified before appearing on the web site.

Email comments

Key Words :- textile flax paper corn drysalter mill warehouse

Viewing the Site :- Best seen from across the river at the Royal Armories

Address :- East Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS9 8DT
Grid Ref :- SE 31022 32986
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.792268 , Long -1.530575
Local Authority :- Leeds Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Historic England List No - 1375363,
Site Condition :- Site refurbished to residential housing
Site Dates :- 1831 -
Record Date :- 3 August 2016

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © IHS Database