Stone Bridge Mill, Kestor Lane, Longridge, Lancashire. Archaeological Building Investigation.

Stone Bridge Mill was the first steam-powered mill to be built in Longridge, and represented the introduction of the factory-based textile industry to the town. The mill was designed as a purpose-built weaving factory, which was probably powered by a single-cylinder beam engine supplied by Musgraves of Bolton. The number of looms at Stone Bridge Mill was increased to 614 in c 1910, when a new weaving shed was added to the site. A series of building plans deposited by Thomas Dryden show the intended layout of the new weaving shed, and indicate that it was designed to house 84 looms. The mill closed in 1961, and the site was used subsequently for engineering purposes.
In order to secure heritage interests, Singleton’s Dairy Ltd commissioned Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) to carry out an archaeological building investigation of the weaving shed prior to its demolition to ensure that an archival record of the building was compiled. The work was commensurate with an English Heritage Level I/II-type building investigation, and was undertaken in October 2012.