Fireproof Mills — The Widening Perspectives

Abstract

The author discusses how fieldwork by RCHME and others has refined the typology for the development of the fireproof textile mill first put forward by H.R. Johnson and A.W. Skempton in 1956. Details of cast-iron roof framing, the different styles of supporting columns and the problems created by power transmission are all considered. It is suggested that early examples of fireproofing are generally associated with mechanised flax or cotton spinning, the branch of the industry most at risk.