Oakenrod Mill, Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Archaeological Evaluation.

Vincentian Homes & Services Ltd has submitted a proposal to redevelop the site of Oakenrod Mill in Rochdale, Lancashire (centred on SD 8874 1306). The site is of some archaeological significance as it was occupied since the early seventeenth century by a series of textile mills. The first of these was a fulling mill, which was reported to have incorporated in its build a datestone marked ‘1606’ (Fishwick 1889).
By the early nineteenth century, a water-powered woollen mill occupied the site(GMSMR 5054), although it is unclear whether this was a newly-built structure, or represented the conversion of the fulling mill. The woollen mill, known as Oakenrod Mill, was seemingly adapted to steam power by the mid-nineteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth century, the mill had been remodelled for use as a cotton waste mill, and an additional factory block had been added to the site. Documentary evidence also suggests that the mill had been powered, at least in part, by a turbine
during the nineteenth century.
In order to secure archaeological interests, the Assistant County Archaeologist for Greater Manchester recommended that the site be subject to a programme of evaluation prior to development to establish the presence or absence of buried
remains. This programme of work included the excavation of six targeted trenches, of which four were to be placed across the site of Oakenrod Mill and its immediate environs, the remaining two placed across the area to the north-east to establish whether that part of the site had been occupied by the fulling mill.