Mollett Catering Supplies aka Thompson Mill, Bradford

[INDENT]This is Mollett Catering Supplies in Bradford on Thornton Road. The condition of the mill today is not good. The mill was built in 1801/2 by Mr Piele. In 1833 the whole mill was owned by Mr Benjamin and Matthew William Thompson (1 February 1820 – 1 December 1891) was a British Liberal Party politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford in West Yorkshire at a by-election in 1867, but did not contest the 1868 general election. At the age of 28, Sir Titus Salt was experimenting will Russian wool (Donskoi) for worsted which is a type of yarn. After realising that this wool was hard to untangle he decided to open up a seperate mill do sort his problem out and then soon he bought four more mills in the centre of Bradford. The mill is seperated into two sections one the old mill and one a more modern catering supplies. It is beleived that this mill is one of the oldest in Bradford

History is a bit sketchy on this place; this is the best I can manage I'm afraid readers. It appears that this place is the second oldest mill in Bradford (Holme mil - 1800, pretty much opposite is the oldest) This place was built in 1801/2 by Mr Piele, (a dyer) at two different periods, and at one time was two different mills.

By 1833, Mr Benjamin and Matthew Thompson owned the whole of this mill. Today, it lies empty, trashed and open to the elements, the smack heads and the firestarters.

The looms are long gone; the mill silent. Titus Salt, (an important Bradford man, who went on to build the enormous Salt's Mill in Saltaire - named after him and the River Aire) had been experimenting with a Russian wool called Donskoi wool for worsted manufacture. He was unable to persuade manufacturers to make use of the wool, and was determined to do so himself. After careful experimentation, he fully succeeded, by means of special machinery which he set up in here.

The top level, with its lovely colours, is in a bad state. Like much of Bradford, it has been left to the elements, unloved, and forgotten. The once important location for an industry that shaped a city and clothed a nation is slowly rotting away, the distant echoes from the long gone looms and spinning machines blown away by the breeze that stirs the dust up here on the empty mill floor.[/INDENT]



Notes nicked from[URL="http://www.urbexforums.co.uk/showthread.php/7503-Thompson-s-Mill-Bradford-March-10"] boxfrenzy[/URL] All so [URL="http://www.james-dolan.co.uk/urbex/?p=92"]here [/URL] Thanks to S.S Dan (for driving) Monkey for being there when he did not want to be..