Bradford Mill Fire

As I explained yesterday, a major mill fire broke out in Bradford just after I left for home.

The mill was part of the Thompson's Mill complex, one of the very earliest mill sites in Bradford and was an important part of the industrial heritage of the city.

Before it burned down, I featured it in two blips:

Derelict Mill

and Goitside Millscape, where it is the large mill in the middle. I took one picture from a similar vantage point today, to illustrate the impact.

The start of a photo set, showing the mill before and after the fire, including the demolition, is here.

I arrived on the scene at the end of my working day today, just in time to see the demolition crew move in. I suspect the gable end featured in this image won't be there in the morning.

There is a shocking neglect of some fine mill buildings in various parts of the city, with this concentration in Goitside being the best example. All too often there are mill fires which suddenly open the way for development that doesn't have to be sympathetic to the existing built environment.

I'm glad that through Blipfoto I go out and record the heritage of the city. In two blips at least there is a legacy of what is no more.

Postscript: October 6th - as feared, the gable end was no more this morning - the mill is now rubble. The site is still busy with police scientific officers trying to solve the problem of who started the fire.