Ditherington Flax Mill

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Ditherington Flax Mill (2018)

The Ditherington Flax Mill (also Castle Foregate Flax Mill ) is a flax mill in Ditherington , Shrewsbury , built from 1796 to 1797 according to designs by the architect Charles Bage (1751-1822) and the oldest steel frame structure in the world. The mill was operated by the Marshall and Benyon company. In the main building built by Bage, the steam-powered operations of the mill were carried out. There was a workshop on the ground floor, while linen and tow were made on the upper floors . Work steps that had to be carried out by hand were mainly carried out in the neighboring buildings, where storage, bleaching and drying also took place. The mill was powered by a Boulton & Watt 20 HP motor in a machine house at the end of the mill. The construction of the building was groundbreaking for 19th century iron architecture.

In 1800 a second engine, a 40 or 45 HP Fenton, Murray and Wood of Leeds, was added in a new nacelle. This measure was probably planned as early as 1798 or when the building itself was built. Several renovations and extensions were added to the site over the next few years. 1897-98 the mill was converted into a grinding mill, which was closed in 1987.

The building has been preserved to this day and has been a listed building (Grade I) since 1953. It was redeveloped in the 2010s.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ RJM Sutherland: Structural Iron 1750-1850 . Routledge, 2016 ( Google Books ).
  2. ↑ a b c Historic England: Ditherington Flax Mill: Spinning Mill, Shrewsbury - 1270576 | Historic England. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 43 ′ 10.2 "  N , 2 ° 44 ′ 35.5"  W.