Houldsworth's Cotton Mill, Glasgow
In Anderston, Glasgow.
Demolished in 1969.
Established by Henry Houldsworth.
This was an early example of a 'fireproof' textile mill which avoided the use of wood in its structure.
It was built in 1804-5, and extended southwards between 1854 and 1864. In use as a bonded warehouse 1878-1964, when part of the older portion collapsed.
It had brick walls, floors supported by brick jack arches sprung from cast iron beams, cast iron columns providing intermediate support to the beams and roof, and cast iron roof trusses. The known predecessors using this type of construction are:-
- Ditherington Flax Mill, Shrewsbury(1797)
- Salford Twist Mill (1799-1804)
- Meadow Lane Flax Mill, Leeds (1802-3)
- North Mill, Belper (1803-4)
The columns were cylindrical and designed to convey steam for heating. The outside diameter ranged from 7" at ground level to 5.75" on the 6th storey.
The cast iron beams were of inverted T-section, with a 4" wide flange. The depth of the web varied from 9" near the ends to 15.5" at the centre.
At some point the original roof was raised, and the method of intermediate support for the roof was altered, replacing two columns which supported the ends of an arched rib with one central column and a beam attached to the ends of the arched rib.
A number of fine sketches by Geoffrey D. Hay show the details of construction of the ironwork [1]. These are available online, together with additional photographs taken during demolition [2]