Many, if not most, of Manchester's former textile mills have been converted into apartment buildings but the Wellington Mill and its neighbour, the Brunswick Mill, across the Ashton Canal, struggle on as homes to a collection of small businesses. 


Among those who have the Wellington Mill, or as it is also referred to Wellington House, as their address are: The Greenhouse Rehearsal Studios, Flying Carpets Limited, Fish Fry, Castle Garments and Eklectika Enterprises.  As you can see an eclectic collection of businesses.


On the Beswick Street Pollard Street corner a high brickwall topped with razor wire marks out an area beside the main mill building.  In here was a storage area for coal unloaded from canal barges as well as a number of buildings used as warehouses, storage and offices. 





I have seen details of a plan drawn up by the architectural practice of "architecture:m" for that area to be used for a residential development.  Their design calls for the creation of 130 interlinking duplex three and four bed apartments within three buildings on the site, each with an individual character.  They say of the plan that it, "mirrors the ambitious schemes by the developers Cibitas who are hoping to rebrand the Holt town area as a family orientated live-work community. Although a number of years off completion, if successful this intervention should breath life, commerce, people and activity into a currently undervalued area of Manchester".  The date on the plan was 2009 but clearly it hasn't moved into the construction phase as of February, 2011.

Below you can see my version of a plan of the mill drawn in 1928.  At that time Bazley Brothers were the occupants and they were still in the cotton spinning and doubling business.