Report - William Halley & Co, Wallace Craigie Jute Works, Dundee July 2015

[dweeb]

3-storey and attic 8-bay (7-bay front due to skewed E gable) fireproof flax, later jute mill, extended by 10-bays to E in 1864-5, rubble-built.S elevation: 17-bay with 1865 section slightly advanced. Most ground floor windows blocked. 2 bays at W to 1865 engine have round-headed ground floor doors and 1st floor windows. Main cornice and corniced gutter. N elevation of 1834-6 mill is intact, with small windows at ground floor, but later buildings added to ground and 1st floors of 1864-5 block. 2nd floor and attic are intact with gabled dormer hoist and raised lift-housing. W elevation: 2-window with large windows at 1st floor to 1830s engine house and blind stair bay at N. Oculus, skews, skewputts and ball finial to gable. E elevation: blank with doors to adjoining narrower 3-storey winding and dressing block (rebuilt after 1945 fire). Ball finial missing. Some windows are original 12-pane sash and case, most are modern metal-framed. Slate roof with skylights, interrupted at join between E and W mills.

The last functioning textile works in the city to be owned by the original firm, William Halley and Sons Ltd. Built by a partnership of William Halley, Robert Brough and James Gilroy, all local manufacturers. Production transferred to Wester Gourdie in 2004. (Historic Scotland)

Once again a bit late here, it's a lovely solidly built mill but has been virtually stripped bare ready for a conversion that has as of yet not happened.

I was hoping for some epic hiding in cubbies, and indeed there were a few little hidey holes, but the epic was a tad lacking, all I found were some bundles of raw jute and a few very old wooden rollers from the looms. There was even a blocked up staircase, but all this yielded were a few old paint tins and a 50's newspaper Still I'm glad I got to have a poke around before it gets flattened or converted.

Clebby, I told you to wait in the car

There was a whole stack of these rollers hiding in a stone alcove, obviously once for winding sheet jute into rolls

What the place was all about...

A bit of "raw" jute prior to spinning. Plucked from a bale buried in rubble in the shut off staircase.

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[The Shepshed Diamondback]

looks like a nice explore.

 

[tweek]

A couple of little relics there. That floor looks Barnsley-esque... very photogenic.

 

[dweeb]

Aye I was hoping for a little bit more but even in it's current state I would say it is worth a gentle wander. Shame I missed it pre stripping really, I think it is the last sizeable jute mill in Dundee that is left unconverted, other than Baxters.

 

[Speed]

Me and Brickman looked in here in 2010 i think. Assumed you guys had done it before!

 

[dweeb]

Yeah I think we had more promising things on our list last time. To be fair to the place it had potential to be hiding a few gems, just a pity they hid paint tins instead of cone tops!

 

[Oxygen Thief]

Never mind, you have to check these things out.

 

[Sidewider]

Me and my friends were up there taking some horror photos, it was quite a cool place.

 

[clebby]

Me and my friends were up there taking some horror photos, it was quite a cool place.

I think you might have misunderstood how a noose works there matey

 

[Oxygen Thief]

Horror shots? 'horrific shots' maybe. Still, looks like you were having fun.

 

[dweeb]

Update - demolished without permission. Council responded by saying "uurm yeah you shouldn't have done that, but yeah it was kind of an eyesore wasn't it"

Council work so it's best!