Victoria Mill

One of the exciting aspects of our job is undertaking surveys of derelict, historic buildings. We never know what we might find! We are often entering a space which has been closed off for years and it’s great to be the first professional to see what the potential could be.

One such building we recently surveyed was Victoria Mill.

It was built in 1886 after a fire destroyed the old mill factory. At the time it was thought to be brave to take on such ambitious plans when the flour mill industry was under severe pressure. The owner pushed through with his plans, understanding the strategic importance of the location being close to the waterway and good railway links. The Mill has continued to be at the forefront of flour milling technology for may years but it is thought to have fell into disuse in the early nineties.

SOLID was appointed to carry out a condition survey of the building as a first step towards redeveloping the building.

As with all old buildings, the Mill provided many interesting finds not seen before.

The concrete floor construction seems to have used roof tiles in the bottom of the shutter but the reasoning is unclear: The tiles can’t act as the form work, or could it have been for fire reasons, acoustics or aesthetics? We’ll probably never know! The more common clay pot floors act as a void former but these tiles are a bit of mystery. The tiles look like roof tiles as they have the fixing holes.

Another thing we often see when undertaking a survey of an old building is just how much it has been challenged by its use. More often than not, the building users seemed to have been blissfully unaware of the structural importance of a specific element like this hole that was cut through a slab, presumably for services. It may have got the services through but it didn’t leave much structure! 

Structural decay as a result of water ingress is a theme that often features in old buildings. At the Mill, we found this timber truss end that has clearly been compromised. The water ingress over time has allowed it to deteriorate to the point where it is wholly supported by the duct work underneath it. Not designed to carry the load, this duct work seems to be standing up to the job but our recommendation will be to get some temporary propping in place!

We will undertake resistograph testing on the other principle timber beams. This is an advanced detection device to determine the exact location and type of decay within the wood, in a non-destructive way. Often the decay is hidden in the wall which has been saturated by water ingress. 

We are passionate about getting buildings repurposed. We love a challenge and jump at the chance to follow a project from the initial feasibility, to undertaking the full design through to its construction phase and completion. 

It can be a daunting start but the end results always exceed expectations.