Silent Structures

One of my favourite shots from The Big Mill, sadly it was destroyed by a catastrophic fire a couple of months ago 😔📸

RAF Nocton Hall Hospital 🎖️🏥

RAF Hospital Nocton Hall was a 740-bed military medical facility located in Lincolnshire, England. It operated under the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1947 to 1983, before later being used by the United States Air Force (USAF) until 1995.

The hospital stood within the grounds of Nocton Hall, an 18th-century country mansion that served as the officers’ mess throughout the hospital’s operational life.

Officially opened in June 1947, the hospital provided medical care to RAF personnel, their families, and local civilians across the heavily militarised Lincolnshire region.

Following its closure as an RAF facility in 1983, the site was leased to the United States Air Force in 1984 and repurposed as a wartime contingency hospital.

During the 1991 Gulf War, the hospital was heavily staffed in preparation for incoming casualties, although only 35 patients ultimately required treatment. The site was returned to the UK government in September 1995 and has remained closed ever since.

Nocton Hall itself suffered a devastating and unexplained fire in 2004, which gutted much of the interior. Although the structure still stands today, it survives only as a crumbling ruin.

Silent Structures is an independently run, non-profit platform dedicated to documenting and preserving our heritage and history. If this resonates with you, please consider following the page to stay connected. 😊

Greenside Mill / Dawson Fabrics 🏭

( Part three, Offices & Laboratories )

Greenside Mill was built in 1770 by William Marsden. Prior to its construction, Marsden had purchased land with a stream running through it, ideal for damming to create a reservoir for dyeing and finishing cloth. He later took on Richard Field as an apprentice, who eventually married Marsden’s daughter and assumed full control of Greenside by 1830. At this time, the site had developed into a dye-house and warehouse, while weaving continued to be carried out off-site by employees.

Following Marsden’s death, Richard Field purchased the Greenside property at market value, enabling the business to operate under his own name. Over the years, production evolved in response to changing fashions, moving from fancy weaving to high-quality shawls, and later to quilting and skirting fabrics.

In 1850, increasing demand for wider cloth led Field to expand the premises. A new dye-house was constructed, and an engine was installed, transforming the site into a fully operational mill. Field later employed Thomas Gothard Bottrill, who became his business partner in 1872 when the company “Field and Bottrill” was formed. The company specialised in pile fabrics and astrakhan production.

The site was taken over by Fur Fabrics Ltd in 1967 and rebranded as Dawson Fur Fabrics in 2001. Production shifted towards circular and sliver knitting, with the company focusing primarily on the preparation, weaving, and finishing of synthetic fleece linings for jackets and blankets. At its peak during this period, the workforce numbered around 70 employees.

However, the company experienced financial difficulties and workforce reductions during the early 2000s. By February 2006, the majority of employees had been made redundant.

In 2016, Dawson Fabrics officially entered liquidation, and the Greenside Mill site was vacated.

On 11 January 2022, at 2:17am, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue received multiple calls reporting a fire at Greenside Mill. Multiple crews attended the scene, where flames could be seen engulfing the roof. By 5:10am, the fire had been largely extinguished, preventing it from taking hold of the entire building.

Following years of vacancy, the former mill was sold for a residential redevelopment and was ultimately demolished in 2023.

Silent Structures is an independently run, non-profit platform dedicated to documenting and preserving our heritage and history. If this resonates with you, please consider following the page to stay connected. 😊

Greenside Mill / Dawson Fabrics 🏭

( Part Two, Workshops & Stores )

Greenside Mill was built in 1770 by William Marsden. Prior to its construction, Marsden had purchased land with a stream running through it, ideal for damming to create a reservoir for dyeing and finishing cloth. He later took on Richard Field as an apprentice, who eventually married Marsden’s daughter and assumed full control of Greenside by 1830. At this time, the site had developed into a dye-house and warehouse, while weaving continued to be carried out off-site by employees.

Following Marsden’s death, Richard Field purchased the Greenside property at market value, enabling the business to operate under his own name. Over the years, production evolved in response to changing fashions, moving from fancy weaving to high-quality shawls, and later to quilting and skirting fabrics.

In 1850, increasing demand for wider cloth led Field to expand the premises. A new dye-house was constructed, and an engine was installed, transforming the site into a fully operational mill. Field later employed Thomas Gothard Bottrill, who became his business partner in 1872 when the company “Field and Bottrill” was formed. The company specialised in pile fabrics and astrakhan production.

The site was taken over by Fur Fabrics Ltd in 1967 and rebranded as Dawson Fur Fabrics in 2001. Production shifted towards circular and sliver knitting, with the company focusing primarily on the preparation, weaving, and finishing of synthetic fleece linings for jackets and blankets. At its peak during this period, the workforce numbered around 70 employees.

However, the company experienced financial difficulties and workforce reductions during the early 2000s. By February 2006, the majority of employees had been made redundant.

In 2016, Dawson Fabrics officially entered liquidation, and the Greenside Mill site was vacated.

On 11 January 2022, at 2:17am, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue received multiple calls reporting a fire at Greenside Mill. Multiple crews attended the scene, where flames could be seen engulfing the roof. By 5:10am, the fire had been largely extinguished, preventing it from taking hold of the entire building.

Following years of vacancy, the former mill was sold for a residential redevelopment and was ultimately demolished in 2023.

Silent Structures is an independently run, non-profit platform dedicated to documenting and preserving our heritage and history. If this resonates with you, please consider following the page to stay connected. 😊

Bowaters Paper Mill & Sack Factory 🏭

Bowaters Pulp and Paper Mill was built in 1951 at Ellesmere Port, alongside the Manchester Ship Canal between its junctions with the Shropshire Union Canal and the River Mersey. The factory was purpose-built for efficiency, with reels of paper entering at one end of the site before being printed, tubed, sewn, and bottomed within the main production hall, eventually leaving the opposite end as finished paper or plastic sacks for chemicals, foodstuffs, and a wide range of other products.

The factory’s distinctive barrel roof and expansive glass windows were specifically designed to capture the rising sun, flooding the vast production hall with natural light and reducing the need for artificial lighting. The entire facility reflected modern industrial planning and streamlined production methods of the era.

The factory operated as a self-contained industrial hub, complete with its own printing works, maintenance department, canteen, and office staff. At its peak, it employed more than 400 people and became a hugely successful producer of paper sacks exported around the world.

The business was later acquired from Bowaters by AssiDoman, owned by MoDO, before being purchased by Papropack in what was effectively an order-book buyout. The site was kept operational only for the minimum required period before being closed, resulting in the loss of all jobs. Production ceased in April 1997, after which the machinery was stripped from the site.

In 1998, the site was sold to Manisty Wharf. Today, the building has been divided into four separate units, while the main factory hall and offices have fallen into the state of disrepair.

Bowaters Paper Mill & Sack Factory 🏭

Bowaters Pulp and Paper Mill was built in 1951 at Ellesmere Port, alongside the Manchester Ship Canal between its junctions with the Shropshire Union Canal and the River Mersey. The factory was purpose-built for efficiency, with reels of paper entering at one end of the site before being printed, tubed, sewn, and bottomed within the main production hall, eventually leaving the opposite end as finished paper or plastic sacks for chemicals, foodstuffs, and a wide range of other products.

The factory’s distinctive barrel roof and expansive glass windows were specifically designed to capture the rising sun, flooding the vast production hall with natural light and reducing the need for artificial lighting. The entire facility reflected modern industrial planning and streamlined production methods of the era.

The factory operated as a self-contained industrial hub, complete with its own printing works, maintenance department, canteen, and office staff. At its peak, it employed more than 400 people and became a hugely successful producer of paper sacks exported around the world.

The business was later acquired from Bowaters by AssiDoman, owned by MoDO, before being purchased by Papropack in what was effectively an order-book buyout. The site was kept operational only for the minimum required period before being closed, resulting in the loss of all jobs. Production ceased in April 1997, after which the machinery was stripped from the site.

In 1998, the site was sold to Manisty Wharf. Today, the building has been divided into four separate units, while the main factory hall and offices have fallen into the state of disrepair.

Silent Structures is an independently run, non-profit platform dedicated to documenting and preserving our heritage and history. If this resonates with you, please consider following the page to stay connected. 😊