Time passing and industrial times past: the construction date 1872 on the clock tower at the former Bliss Tweed Mill at Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK, reflected in the calm surface of the small lake in landscaped gardens enjoyed by its present occupants, the leaseholders of luxury apartments formed after the mill closed in 1980.
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK: Time passing and times past … the date ‘ 1872’ below a round clock face telling the current time is reflected in the unruffled surface of the small lake or pond before the former Bliss Tweed Mill, which produced top quality textiles for more than a century. The 1872 date on the circular tower capped by a ribbed, lead-sheathed dome supporting a lofty smokestack records the year when the spinning mill was built and opened for Victorian manufacturer and entrepreneur, William Bliss. The 5-storey building was designed in the style of an English stately home by Lancashire architect George Woodhouse (1829-1883). The spinning mill is faced in Cotswold limestone and features pairs of round-arched windows and square corner towers topped by stone urns. The iconic, Tuscan-style chimney, a Cotswolds landmark rising to m (165 ft), drew smoke from the furnace used to boil water for the mill’s steam-driven machinery. Wool spun in the brick-vaulted interior was then woven into cloth in a lower, multi-gabled building nearby. Bliss Mill produced tweed cloth from both Cotswold and Shetland wool. Good quality tweed was much in demand in the late-Victorian and Edwardian eras and at one time, the mill employed 700 spinners, weavers and other staff. They went on strike over trade union rights just before the 1914-18 First World War, but the business then thrived in wartime thanks to large orders for khaki cloth for British Army uniforms. The mill closed in 1980, but was later converted into luxury apartments. Its residents have the use of landscaped gardens as well amenities such as indoor parking, a heated swimming pool, tennis and squash courts and a gymnasium.
Size: 3872px × 2592px
Location: Bliss Tweed Mill, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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