Dunlop Tower
A Rochdale landmark bites the dust!

Date published: 19 April 2014

Dunlop Mill Tower, the blue tower that greets people as they drive off the M62 and down the A627M, a landmark in Rochdale for many generations, is being demolished.

A lot of the mill was demolished in 1979 due to the decline of the cotton industry and in 2012 most of the remainder was demolished, with just the tower and the part of the mill fronting Edinburgh Way left, but that has now been demolished too.

The tower housed very large vertical ovens, understood to have been used in the rubber textile manufacturing process.

It was originally scheduled for demolition last year, however, the interior needed to be stripped, by demolition contractors Reddish Demolition, from top to bottom of machinery first.

The original Dunlop Mill was built by R and T Howarth. The ground floor and basement were built in 1913 and the rest was constructed in 1919 and was a highly recognisable Castleton landmark. It boasted seven-storeys and a half mile length, situated next to the Lancashire-Yorkshire railway, iconic for many rail travellers.

Rochdale contributed to the Dunlop name by breaking the raw cotton bale, which would eventually be turned into a Dunlop tyre, a Dunlop sports shoe, or even a Dunlop mac.

In its heyday, Dunlop Mill employed around 3,000 people and it was, at one point, the largest cotton mill in the world. Facilities for the staff included a social club and a colossal dining room, which seated more than 1,000 staff. The Mill boasted its own electric railway, situated in its weaving shed.

The Mill was often described as a progressive employer, offering employees healthcare amongst other incentives.

Dunlop’s first roll of cloth was delivered in 1914. From then on, its normal weekly production was more than 600,000lbs of cotton, with over 1,000 bales of cotton used weekly.

The Mill went into receivership in 2004.

Northern Trust has been the asset managers of the site for the past three years.

Speaking previously to Rochdale Online, Andrew Beattie, Project Manager said: “The building had reached the end of its lifespan. It is continually vandalised and broken into, the property has been constantly destroyed. Many of the tenants left because of this. This is why we decided to demolish the property as opposed to refurbishing it.”

It is understood the site will be a major development site in the future, but no plans have been submitted to Rochdale Council yet.

DID YOU WORK AT DUNLOP MILL?

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In 2012, Dr Mike Howarth found boxes of information regarding his grandfather’s business, some of which concerns the Dunlop Mill. These are available to view in Touchstones.

Dr Howarth said: “I am keen to get people with memories and pictures of R and T Howarth properties to come forward and share them. There is so much history surrounding these buildings and my idea is to create an R and T trail as a visitor centre activity.”