Marshall's Mill

Marshall's Mill: Past

Built in 1791-2 on Water Lane, Marshall's Mill was a six storey water-powered mill employing over 2,000 workers. Using water drawn from the nearby Hol Beck, Marshall was able to create enough steam to power almost 7,000 spindles, which only a generation earlier would have been driven by hand in Yorkshire's rural cottage industries.

The Mill was renowned in its time, and drew a great deal of press attention on its completion:

"Messrs. Marshall, of Leeds ... have a flax mill in that town which is among the largest factories in the empire. It gives employment to no less than twenty-three hundred persons."

"Perhaps ... dimensions will not give such a familiar idea of the size of the room as a comparison between it and other well-known buildings. When we say, then, that this enormous room covers five times as much space as Westminster Hall, seven times as much as Exeter Hall, nine times as much as the new town hall at Birmingham, its vastness will become in some degree appreciable."

Source: The Penny Magazine
of The Society For the
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
December 1843

Marshall's Mill: Present

Marshall's Mill underwent redevelopment in the mid-1990's before the boundary of Holbeck Urban Village was established. It is now a modern development of offices within a Grade II* listed building and home to companies such as Orange telecommunications and full service marketing agency, An Agency Called England.

Marshall's Mill: Future

Igloo Regeneration have taken over the site with plans for a development that will combine leisure, business and residential accommodation organised around a network of streets and squares. The plans submitted also include the construction of seven new buildings to complement the existing listed structure.