16/09/2026
Swipe to go back in time ➡️
Our Manchester project is almost complete and when you’re working on buildings with this much history, it feels worth taking a moment to appreciate what’s around you.
These mills were once at the heart of Manchester’s cotton industry, sitting alongside the Rochdale Canal and playing a huge part in the city’s industrial story.
A few things we found pretty fascinating 👇
🧱 Built from bricks made right there — Old Mill (1798) took an estimated 400,000 handmade bricks, thought to have been fired on site using clay dug out of the ground it stands on.
🏆 The oldest of its kind still standing — Old Mill is believed to be the world’s oldest surviving urban steam-powered cotton mill, and Manchester’s oldest surviving mill overall.
🚪 Built to be sealed off — there were no doors or gateways into the mill along the canal or streets, except one single arched entrance halfway along Murray Street. Everything else came in by the canal tunnel.
Listed and heritage projects are something we take real pride in. They need a different level of care, attention to detail and respect for the building’s history and that’s something we’re proud to specialise in.