archive photos

Rainow Mill after the 1908 fire

Rainow Mill was probably built on the site of an earlier fulling mill or 'walk mill' which seems to have been operating in the early 18th century, and may have been much older. Originally a corn mill, then a paper mill, Rainow was converted for cotton spinning in 1801. It burned down in 1856, and again in 1908, when this photograph was taken. After the second fire the mill wasn't rebuilt, and the site is now a car park.