Mill History
The mill, which was built in 1864 for Manchester's first millionaire, John Rylands and soon became the lifeblood of the local community, but now is one of the most endangered buildings in the country.
Rylands Mill in Wigan, has been named as one of the top ten most endangered buildings in the UK, by the Victorian Society.
The mill, which was built in 1864 for Manchester's first millionaire, John Rylands and soon became the lifeblood of the local community, offering work in the textile industry.
But in 1985, as the textile industry was lagging, the mill was taken over by Wigan Technical College and became known as Pagefield Campus, until it closed in 2007.
And since then it has lain in a state of disrepair, suffering repeated arson attacks, making this piece of local history one of the most 'at risk' buildings in the country.
The Explore:
I have wanted to complete this Mill explore for some time. The building itself looks amazing and the external shell looks all intact. However, inside it another story entirely. Thus Mills is now pretty un repairable due to vandals and so forth and there has been many fires over the years. The roofs and internal walls have pretty all but gone.
I did go back for a second visit as i had heard of some WW2 air-raid tunnels that where built for the workers during the war. I found the location and the entrance hatch, but sadly have been filled with concrete.
The mill, which was built in 1864 for Manchester's first millionaire, John Rylands and soon became the lifeblood of the local community, but now is one of the most endangered buildings in the country.
Rylands Mill in Wigan, has been named as one of the top ten most endangered buildings in the UK, by the Victorian Society.
The mill, which was built in 1864 for Manchester's first millionaire, John Rylands and soon became the lifeblood of the local community, offering work in the textile industry.
But in 1985, as the textile industry was lagging, the mill was taken over by Wigan Technical College and became known as Pagefield Campus, until it closed in 2007.
And since then it has lain in a state of disrepair, suffering repeated arson attacks, making this piece of local history one of the most 'at risk' buildings in the country.
The Explore:
I have wanted to complete this Mill explore for some time. The building itself looks amazing and the external shell looks all intact. However, inside it another story entirely. Thus Mills is now pretty un repairable due to vandals and so forth and there has been many fires over the years. The roofs and internal walls have pretty all but gone.
I did go back for a second visit as i had heard of some WW2 air-raid tunnels that where built for the workers during the war. I found the location and the entrance hatch, but sadly have been filled with concrete.
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