My knee-jerk reaction when faced with an attractive or historic derelict building is to hope that someone will find a use that will pay for its upkeep.
Travelling on the Manchester Metrolink line to Rochdale, I was appalled at the state of Hartford Mill, near Werneth, and bemused by its great size.
It was built as a cotton-spinning mill in 1907, twice extended in the 1920s, and closed in 1959. It was used as a mail-order warehouse by Littlewoods until 1992, after which no-one could think what to do with it, though it was listed Grade II in 1993.
It’s a shame that this huge, magnificent building was simply left to rot.
It became a notorious focus for anti-social behaviour, including several severe arson attacks, culminating in the death of an eighteen-year-old youth in a fall in 2015.
In the end there was no alternative but to demolish the mill – no mean task. The Mill is a five-storey building 25 bays long and 12 bays wide with a corner tower.
The demolition process was slowed by the restrictions of the Covid pandemic, and for a short while longer the mill remained a blot on the landscape: ‘Death trap’ 113-year-old mill is being demolished – Manchester Evening News.
The final act was the demolition of the chimney on Sunday October 1st 2023: Moment landmark Hartford Mill Chimney in Oldham demolished to make way for new housing | ITV News Granada.
The leader of Oldham Borough Council, Sean Fielding, told the Manchester Evening News (August 30th 2018),–
“When people travel through Oldham on the Metrolink line they don’t want a deteriorating old mill to be what they see – and it’s certainly not what residents should have to look at every day.
“Everyone deserves to live in decent areas where families and communities can prosper and feel proud.
“Oldham is an aspirational place to live, work and invest and to continue that improvement we must make full use of sites like Hartford Mill.”
I wholeheartedly agree.