Group visit with Tom Sherman and Jo Black
[/UJo and I met up with Tom to explore a few places, culverts, air raids and lastly the mill. This place is a little scary due to the roof beams looking like they're about to finish their collapsing any second :/ A bit of history, which I know as been done before but it's good experience for me lol.
Designed by George Woodhouse in 1866, Rylands Mill was built and had served the local population for work until the overall demise of the textile industry had taken it's toll across the country.
In 1985 it became an annexe to Wigan Technical College and became better known as the Pagefield Building until closure in 2007. The facade along the front was repointed and boasts some wonderful brick pattern work, this mill being the most expensive around at the time it was built.
The building has recently been targeted by youth arsonists, the news reports says 'THE fire service has issued a dire warning after youths have been dicing with death by entering an unsafe building and setting rubbish alight'.
The building was sold by Wigan and Leigh College in 2009 and is managed by MCR Property Group.
A spokesman for MCR Property Group said: “The new owner is equally concerned about the incidents of vandalism and has put into place measures, including installation of a monitored alarm system in the building.
“The owner is currently in discussions with the local authority with a view to securing a planning consent for the conversion of the mill into apartments together with an element of new build residential development on the remainder of the site.”
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