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Report - - Hermitage Mill, Mansfield, April 2019 | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Hermitage Mill, Mansfield, April 2019

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tarkovsky

SWC
Regular User
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A couple of relatively recent reports suggested that this might be worth further inspection. It's pretty empty but a mill is a mill after all.
Visited with @HughieD - entry was pretty funny, taking an unnecessarily complicated route, before eventually using a much more obvious means of entry.

History

A planning committee report describes the mill as follows:

Hermitage Mill is a Grade II Listed building located on Hermitage Lane, Mansfield adjacent to its Mill pond to the east and the Local Nature Reserve known as the Hermitage. Further to the east again is Kings Mill viaduct now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Hermitage Mill was built along with a number of other textile mills along the river Maun in approximately 1780. The original structure was constructed from local sandstone and is arranged over lower ground, ground, first, second floors and attic level. By the 1870's the mill was extended with a large southern brick extension and a flat roof extension on its north end. Other additions included an engine house, by 1878, and boiler room.

The mill was occupied as a builder's merchants from the 1950's until 2008 since when it has been vacant.

(Source: https://portal.mansfield.gov.uk/CMADattachments/2018/Planning Applications Committee/Attachments/2018_07_02_00016735_2018-0098-FUL Hermitage Mill.doc)

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The grade 2 listing describes the mills main features of interest:

Former water-powered textile mill, now builders' supplies warehouse. Late C18, with early, mid and late C19 and C20 alterations and additions. For the fourth Duke of Portland, who established several similar mills in the district. Coursed squared rubble and brick, partly rendered, with hipped and gabled concrete tile roofs. Windows are mainly cast-iron
glazing bar casements.
Main block, 3 storeys plus basement; 20-window range. Mainly obscured by late C20 flat-roofed addition. Mid C19 brick section, to left, has 8 segment-headed windows to the first and second floors, the left ones blocked. Above, 8 smaller segment-headed C20 casements. Basement has 2 altered round-arched openings, and to left a late C19 lean-to
addition.

To right, in the return angle, a hipped 3-storey block with a single segment-headed window on each floor. To right again, late C19 addition, 4 storeys; 4 x 6 windows. Plain coped parapet. Upper floors have each 4 windows. Below, off-centre round-arched doorway with heavy voussoirs, flanked to left by 2 smaller windows. Right return has 5 tapering buttresses up to the third floor. Regular fenestration, with
one window on each upper floor altered to form a fire escape. Ground floor second bay has a flat-roofed porch. Rear has 2 windows on each floor, those to third floor segment-headed, with central loft doors on the upper floors, the top one blocked and flanked by an iron crane. Exposed parts of rear elevation have mainly original windows on the lower floors and late C20 casements to the third floor. INTERIOR has original front wall with blocked openings and Norwich Union fire insurance plaque. Timber floors, those to the basement with iron columns clad in brick.

(Source: https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101288578-hermitage-mill-mansfield#.XKwt56TTWEc)

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Grace’s Guide has the following sales listing from 1948:

1848 'IMPORTANT SALE. — LACE MACHINERY.— POWERFUL LATHES, PLANEING MACHINE, POWER DRILL and TOOLS, LARGE PUNCHING Press, 15 Tons New and Old Iron, 12-Horse Condensing Engine, 4 Pairs of Smith's Bellows, 10 Anvils, 40 Pairs of Vices, 25 Trueing Plates, of various sizes, immense quantity of Smith's Tools, about 400 Feet of Ash Benching, Shelves, Counters, and a great variety of other useful and valuable Property, and a flat-bottomed Pleasure Boat.
Mr. BLACKWELL respectfully announces his instructions from Mr. James Fisher, to SELL by AUCTION, on the Premises at Hermitage Mill, near Mansfield, on Monday and Tuesday, the 5th and 6th days of June next, commencing at Eleven o'Clock each day, and to continue without intermission to the conclusion of the day's business,
The whole of the above very valuable and interesting Property. The Lace Machinery has been erected on the Premises at immense cost, and is known to be the very best in the Trade. The Lathes are by Fox, of Derby. The Power Drill and Planeing Machine by Messrs,. Sharp and Roberts, of Manchester. The whole plant has been fitted up in the best and most substantial manner, and will be found equal to new.
Catalogues, with full descriptions may be had of the AUCTIONEER, Long Row, Nottingham ....'

(Source: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Hermitage_Mill_(Mansfield))

And last year, plans were announced for conversion of the site into a care home: https://www.chad.co.uk/news/plans-t...-mill-in-mansfield-into-a-care-home-1-9024392

The photos

External, for comparison with the archive black and white version above.

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Round the back - more of the old mill is visible here as a lot is obscured at the front by the more recently added sections. There's some new-ish double glazed roof windows up the top, presumably part of some tentative restoration work to stop the elements getting in at some point.

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From the top... The top floor was the most photogenic bit...

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I think 'mill green' might be one of my favourite colours...

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And the floors below...

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There was some archive paperwork laying about on one of the floors, most of which was from 1950s...

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Some patterned flooring...

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And as we were making our way to the exit, we heard some movement outside. Turned out to be a couple of lads discussing whether they were going to go in or not. Not wanting to scare them I called out 'hello', and poked my head out of the entry, only to see them legging it away at double speed....

Before exiting I checked out this particularly dark room. I apologise for the shoddy nature of the next two pics but my torch was low on battery. You can just make out the tunnel (now blocked) heading out towards the mill pond at the back of the site.

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And a pic from outside, showing the water flowing from the mill pond alongside the mill site. (Smelled enticingly sewer fresh along here tbh, but waders are for another less rainy day...)

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Last edited:

HughieD

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Ha ha...you beat me to it mate! Great set of pictures and informative report. Really enjoyed this explore and the round-the-house-entry avoiding fishing-pond-security-man!

Think we got a lot of the same shots...great minds and all that....
 

Yorrick

A fellow of infinite jest
28DL Full Member
I really like this place. Good to finally see in the wheel chamber too, it appeared sealed when I went.
 

tarkovsky

SWC
Regular User
some nice pics there :thumb
Yeah good report, enjoyed that.

Thanks both.

Ha ha...you beat me to it mate! Great set of pictures and informative report. Really enjoyed this explore and the round-the-house-entry avoiding fishing-pond-security-man!

Think we got a lot of the same shots...great minds and all that....

Pond security man is in one of the pics, you might have noticed. And I just looked at what you were taking photos of and copied ;-)

Looks good that m8

Hard to beat a nice mill! Need to come back over your way soon or sooner!

I really like this place. Good to finally see in the wheel chamber too, it appeared sealed when I went.

I remember seeing your report and assuming it would have gone by now. Glad it hasn’t! And ‘wheel chamber’ are the words I was looking for but couldn’t find, hence the vagueness of ‘dark room’! Ha! It’s defo open now and I’m tempted to return as I can’t cope with how badly lit that photo is!

Some nice little details there

Yeah still a few bits hanging in there that make it worth a poke around!
 

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