Pownall's Daisy Mill


NOTE:  Thursday, October 22, 2015

At this time, a process is underway that will lead to the demolition of the Daisy Mill.  The plan is to use the site for a new secondary school, part of the Dean Trust.  A document published by Manchester City Council Planning and Highways Committee on July 30, 2015 outlined the proposal for the, "Erection of a part three, part two storey building to form a 1,200 place High School, including a sports hall, sports pitches, landscaping, car parking, associated floodlighting and boundary treatments and associated works together with the creation of a through road between Stockport Road and Langport Avenue, following demolition of all existing buildings on site."

While recognizing that, "Daisy Works is a building of local historic and architectural interest; the large brick built structure is a local landmark. The applicant has submitted a Heritage assessment which assesses the impacts that the proposed development may have on heritage assets. The application proposals involve the demolition of the mill building in order that the proposals can provide sufficient outdoor sports pitches for the school and the wider community.  The assessment confirms that the primary significance of the building lies in the principal elevation to Stockport Road. The evidence available indicates that although the building is of local interest it is not of sufficiently high archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic significance to merit formal designation and that it fails to meet the criteria for listing as set out in English Heritage’s ‘Designation Listing Selection Guide - Industrial Structures’. In addition to this the mill does not lie within or adjacent to a conservation area.  It is therefore considered that Daisy Works is a ‘non-designated heritage asset’ as defined by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)."

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July 2016

I missed the demolition of the old building but visited again in July of 2016 by which time it was gone. 



The new Dean Trust School building was in place, astride what in the 1950s was Upper Plymouth Grove.  When I was a kid, I walked along this street from South Street to Stockport Road where I used the zebra crossing on my way to Plymouth Grove School. 







The land beside the new school building, the site of the former Daisy Mill, was being prepared for its transformation into playing fields for the students who will soon be attending the Dean Trust Ardwick.


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Originally a cotton mill, the Daisy Mill on Stockport road and its tall chimney with the name Pownall's painted on it, dominated my part of Longsight. Its hooter marked the "lunch 'owr" for local residents. The mill suffered a fire in 1928 but the damage was repaired and it continued to operate until 1939. During WWII the mill was used by the War Office as an Army Pay Corps Depot. After the war the building once again returned to commerce in the garment industry. Many local women were employed as machinists. Parts of the building are still used by small businesses and some council services.  Below you can see the mill, indicated by a red arrow, in an aerial image dated 1953.