Bridge Street Mill

Situation
In the centre of Witney on the east side of Bridge Street, on the north bank of the River Windrush.

Physical structure
Bridge Street Mill was made up of a range of different stone and brick buildings that grew up gradually over time, the earliest mill building here probably being of an early 19th century date. These buildings included a square-shaped chimney stack associated with the steam engine and a small office as well as wool processing units.

In 1899 a nine-bay façade, which included three Jacobean style gables, was built (possibly erected by the Witney builder William Cantwell) which nicely screened the mixture of earlier buildings from Bridge Street and gave it a uniform appearance [1]. The complex was quite large, the Cotswold stone buildings that ran south-east from the street being about 280 feet long. The boiler house and engine were sited near to the mill entrance, power being transmitted to different areas of the mill by means of shafting and belt drives [2].

Bridge Street Mill, former mill building at the rear of the premises.

Bridge Street Mill was sited very close to the river but never used water power as William Smith's policy from the start was to use steam. Steam was replaced by electric power throughout the mill in 1948.

Since its closure in 1975 many of the mill buildings are still occupied by industrial and business units, although some parts were demolished including the stone-built chimney [3]. The part of the building fronting Bridge Street was converted into flats and offices in 2004. In February 2005 the long weaving sheds that still existed behind were demolished.

Owners

Bridge Street Mill, gable ends of weaving sheds.

In the 1840s the site of the mill consisted of several parcels of land occupied by tenants and owned by John Hollis, John Francis and others. The properties included a National School, stables, houses and gardens [4].

William Smith owned Bridge Street Mill from sometime in the 1860s and started production here around 1866. He expanded the business and introduced steam power here at an early stage having already been the first to install steam-powered machinery in Witney at his premises on the High Street.

In the 1920s Smiths merged with J.N. Philips of Manchester to form Messrs W. Smith & J.N. Philips, who were themselves taken over in 1967. After several changes of ownership Bridge Street Mill (along with Crawley Mill) was acquired by Moderna Ltd of Halifax, Yorkshire, who finally closed it in 1975 [5].

What was the site used for?
Chiefly a spinning and weaving mill, apparently producing up to 450,000 blankets a year towards the end of its working life. Initially mops were a major product line but these had apparently ceased to be made by the 1930s [6]. From the 1950s onwards, new techniques were introduced including bullet, rapier and air-jet looms and needlepunch technology. The older shuttle looms were however retained until the mill closed.

During the war the Government's policy of concentration in industry led to the Bridge Street site being taken off blanket making and used for other purposes. During this time some of their looms and their staff were transferred to Charles Early and Co. at Witney Mill.

Clare Sumner