Report - Cellars Clough, Marsden - June 12

[Fudge]

Once again I visited this one with LeedsExplorer. Actually found out about it after seeing Tweek's report.

We went out with the intention of a nice relaxed little derp, oh how we were wrong. When we arrived we found that the site was actually being developed - with the following notice pinned up in various places.

Formal Notice of Appointment of a Receiver

I Mr Peter Westwell have been appointed by Richmond Residential & Commercial Plc pursuant to a request in writing dated 26th May 2010 to act as a Receiver in respect of Cellars Clough, Manchester Road, Marsden pursuant to Legal Changes dated 8th February 2006 and 24th August 2006 in favour of Richmond Residentail & Commercial Plc, entered into by Smith Developments Ltd, the owners of the property with Richmond Residential & Commercial Plc.

As soon as we entered the building we knew it was occupied - the clanking of metal and unprotected dinners were just too obvious, our toughest choice was whether or not to eat them. Not wanting to waste a trip to the back end of nowhere we carried on and kept our wits about us. This was well rewarded once we got to the top floor with some beautiful open spaces and vintage lift machinery.

Anyway, here's a bit of the building's history from Tweek's report. It now seems as though the bats have moved along, allowing work to proceed.

The woollen mill was owned by Samuel Firth of Gatehead in Marsden, and opened in 1888. He also owned Holme Mill. By the 60s, it was owned and run by Fisher, Firth & Co. which became Cellars Clough Woollen Mills Ltd, managed by another Firth son, in 1981. The company has now been dissolved.*

Situated just off the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, the mill’s pond is now a popular fishing spot. Planning permission was granted for the conversion of the mills and former offices to 101 dwelling units, 9 live/work units, a resident’s gym, pool, shop, meeting room, bike store, car park and improvements to the access road.*

Previous planning applications have been unsuccessful as bats were found to be residing in the mill. The bats weren’t forcibly removed, so the hope was that they would eventually choose the ‘improved accommodation’ for themselves.*

Now for the pictures that I took. They're not great, but they're alright taking into account the fact we were playing cat and mouse all the way round. If it ends up in the pit, I understand

Unfortunately we missed the chimney part of the building due to the developers. To make up for it we strolled up to Marsden along the river!

Thanks for looking, wish I'd slowed down to take some better pictures whilst inside..​