Reeds Holme Mill, Burnley Road, Rawtenstall, Lancashire. Archaeological Building Investigation.

In August 2012, Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) was commissioned by Allied Textiles Ltd to undertake a programme of archaeological building investigation to support a prior notification application for the demolition of the former Reeds Holme Mill, near Rawtenstall, Lancashire (centred at NGR 380900 424537). The mill was established as an integrated cotton-spinning and weaving factory in the mid nineteenth century, and whilst the site expanded during the second half of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the majority of the original buildings survive extant. A current survey of Lancashire’s textile-manufacturing sites has concluded that Reeds Holme Mill is potentially of ‘high significance’, reflecting the extent of surviving historic fabric.
Following the guidance and advice provided by the Lancashire County Archaeology Service (LCAS) in their capacity as archaeological advisor to Rossendale Borough
Council, it was recommended that an archaeological building survey of the historic elements of the site was carried out to inform the method statement for demolition.
The scope of the archaeological works required was specified in a Written Scheme of Investigation that was devised by OA North in consultation with LCAS. This allowed for an English Heritage Level 2/3-type survey of the buildings, coupled with an appropriate level of historical research.