Thwaite Mill at Stourton has been sold to what the BBC described as an “Ilkley-based property developer.”
The mill which includes six buildings on a 19 acre site and is Grade II listed, was owned by the Canal & River Trust and leased to Leeds City Council who operated the fully working water mill as a museum. It closed in 2024 due to the council’s funding crisis and the owners decided to sell the site.
A spokesperson for Leeds Civic Trust said:
“We are keen to speak to the purchasers of the building to understand their intentions and work with them to see the building back in use.
“This is a listed building and is a unique part of the city’s industrial history. The building needs to have a viable and practical use but we are keen to ensure that whatever is done is sympathetic to the history and heritage.”
The mill’s history goes back to at least 1774 and was a working mill until 1975 grinding chalk to make putty. Local historian Ken Burton wrote two articles about the mill here and here.
Photo: © Leeds Museums & Galleries
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I hope the character of the mill can be retained. At one time three generations of my family were living in Dandy Row on the island, with my grandfather working in the mill.
So do I Kate , I started my life at Dandy Row for a short time. I vaguely remember your grand father at the mill.