Historic Ditherington Flax Mill

The Grade I listed Ditherington Flax Mill was built in 1797

Nestling in a north Shrewsbury suburb it isn't much to look at, yet Ditherington Flax Mill is one of the UK's most important historic buildings.

Designers Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios have been appointed to come up with a long term plan for the flax mill.

Conservation work on the building's structure and the regeneration of the area is expected to take years.

The mill was built in 1797 using a revolutionary design that makes it the forerunner of the world's skyscrapers.

It was designed by local engineer Charles Bage for flax spinners John Marshall and Thomas and Benjamin Benyon. The building is the first of its kind to used an iron frame, a technique which was later developed to allow the construction of skyscrapers.

Charles Bage chose to experiment in the use of iron because of the dangers associated with processing flax. The dust was highly combustible and an iron frame helped to protect the mill, making it less likely to burn than a traditional timber and brick build.

The adventurous design also meant that the building's structural integrity could be assured without the use of internal walls. This allowed owners Marshall, Benyon and Bage to make maximum use of space as the large, open-plan floors still testify.

The iron frame meant that the building didn't need internal walls

During the Napoleonic wars, yarn was processed, spun and then turned into uniforms for troops abroad by thousands of men and women working at the mill.

The building continued to operate as a flax mill, distributing products on the Shrewsbury Canal (which passed the mill). In 1886 it was converted into a maltings, principally to process barley for the brewing industry.

Ironing out the problems

It is unsurprising that the world's first iron-framed building is in Shrewsbury, just a few miles from Coalbrookdale the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Just 17 years before the flax mill sprung up, Abraham Darby III built the world's first iron bridge.

Bage's technique proved successful, although recent history has also revealed its shortcomings. For instance Bage wouldn't have realised that an iron beam supported at the centre would bend and eventually crack without warning.

Iron smelting was still in its infancy and the flax mill, made from cast iron (rather than the more forgiving, but expensive, wrought iron) exhibits many of the problems associated with new technology.

In March 2005 English Heritage officially bought the building for an undisclosed fee, thanks to grant funding from Advantage West Midlands.

In 2004, emergency repairs totalling around £2 million were undertaken. However, the mill remained in a critical condition and ongoing architectural work is being performed to assess the state of the structure.

The long-term future for the flax mill may now look a little rosier, but the final vision is still unclear. Designers Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios will investigate its potential uses, which may include public access, residential and commercial.