Victoria Riverside (Leeds)

Last updated

Victoria Riverside
Hunslet Mills - geograph.org.uk - 773980.jpg
Hunslet Mill (on the right adjacent to the river) and Victoria Works (on the left behind Hunslet Mill)
West Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within West Yorkshire
Former namesHunslet Mill and Victoria Works Complex
General information
LocationGoodman St, Leeds, England
Completed1842
Renovated2017–2023
Technical details
MaterialBrick
Floor count7
Renovating team
Main contractorJM Construction
Other information
Number of units356
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameHunslet Mill
Designated10 January 1986
Reference no. 1256253
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameVictoria Flax Mill entrance range and bollards
Designated5 August 1976
Reference no. 1256342
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameVictoria Works Range
Designated10 January 1986
Reference no. 1256251
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameFormer drying house part of Victoria Flax Mill complex
Designated1 November 1995
Reference no. 1256355
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameMill Range attached to west side of Number 21A
Designated21 November 1995
Reference no. 1256252

Victoria Riverside (formerly known as the Hunslet Mill and Victoria Works Complex) is a series of very large previously disused mill buildings regenerated into apartment buildings on Goodman Street in Leeds, England. The regeneration, carried out between 2017 and 2023, introduced two new buildings alongside the restoration of five listed structures.

Contents

Background

The complex contains five listed buildings, [1] plus two new buildings added during the regeneration project [2] from 2017 to 2023. [1] The five individual listed structures within the complex are Hunslet Mill (Grade II*), [3] Victoria Flax Mill entrance range and bollards, [4] Victoria Works Range, [5] the former drying house part of Victoria Flax Mill complex, [6] and Mill Range [7] (all Grade II listed).

At the time of its completion, the mill was the largest regeneration project of its kind in Europe. [8]

History

1800–1970: Hunslet Mill and Victoria Works Complex

In 1838 the Victoria Works mill was constructed for W. B. Holdsworth. [9] Victoria Works was occupied by a tailoring company called Botterill & Senior from the 1930s [10] and later was owned by a firm of ironmongers called R. H. Bruce. [11]

The adjacent Hunslet Mill was constructed by William Fairbairn for John Wilkinson and completed circa 1842. [9] By 1847 some 1,500 female staff were employed in the mill reeling flax. [9] [12] The mill was occupied by a firm of linen manufacturers called Richard Buckton and Son [13] from 1868 [14] and then by a firm of blanket weavers called Dodgson and Hargreaves from the mid-1920s [10] until it closed in 1966. [15] [16]

2017–2023: Victoria Riverside

The complex, which had been derelict since the 1970s, was purchased by developers Evans Property Group and Caddick Developments. However these development plans ultimately failed to commence, [17] meaning that the complex remained derelict until the current developers, JM Construction, bought the site in the mid-2010s to redevelop it. [18] [19] The scheme was supported by Leeds City Council as a part of its brownfield redevelopment plans. [20]

The project to redevelop the complex was approved by the council in 2017 [21] [22] and construction began the same year. During the redevelopment a piece of newspaper was found dated 1919 amongst other artefacts by the developers. [12] The development, which is called Victoria Riverside, [23] [24] consists of 356 apartments. [25] [12] The first phase of the redevelopment was completed in 2019. [26]

In 2019 Historic England praised the redevelopment and the developer for their "vision and commitment". [27] The final portion of the redevelopment being completed and sold for £17 million in 2023. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Media, Insider (7 March 2023). "Converted mill sold in £17m deal - Insider Media". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  2. ↑ "Historic mill to be developed". Yorkshire Evening Post. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Hunslet Mill (Grade II*) (1256253)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  4. ↑ Historic England. "Victoria Flax Mill entrance range and bollards (Grade II) (1256342)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Victoria Works Range (Grade II) (1256251)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Historic England. "Former drying house part of Victoria Flax Mill complex (Grade II) (1256355)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  7. ↑ Historic England. "Mill Range attached to west side of Number 21A (Grade II) (1256252)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  8. ↑ Morton, Jeremy (11 April 2017). "Historic buildings at heart of Hunslet Riverside regeneration plan". South Leeds Life. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 "Hunslet Mill and Victoria Works Complex" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Hunslet Mill" . Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Atkinson Street, Victoria Mill". Leodis. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Release, Press (9 November 2020). "Rare artefacts found at Hunslet Mill". South Leeds Life. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Frederick Ernest Buckton". Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Hunslet mills" . Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "Barriers to entry" . Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "No. 44160". The London Gazette . 1 November 1966. p. 11837.
  17. ↑ "Is there trouble at t'mill?". Yorkshire Post. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  18. ↑ "Hunslet Mill from Yarn Street". Leodis. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  19. ↑ "Victoria Riverside" . Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  20. ↑ Lewis, Richard (9 March 2018). "Developing brownfield land is at the core of Leeds' ambition". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  21. ↑ "Agenda for Executive Board on Wednesday, 19th April, 2017, 1.00 pm". Leeds City Council. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "388 private residential apartment scheme in Leeds receives boost from £4.6m bridge loan". Yorkshire Post. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "Yorkshire's former mills 'could create 9,000 new homes' - Historic England". BBC News. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  24. ↑ "Potential of Yorkshire's empty disused textile mills revealed". Yorkshire Evening Post. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  25. ↑ "Continued sales success for Leeds apartment scheme" . Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  26. ↑ Morton, Jeremy (16 April 2019). "Historic mill buildings brought back to life". South Leeds Life. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  27. ↑ Release, Press (23 August 2019). "Historic England applauds work on South Leeds mill conversion". South Leeds Life. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

53°47′05″N1°31′25″W / 53.7847°N 1.5237°W / 53.7847; -1.5237

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.