Pigot’s Directory 1828
COTTON SPINNERS.
Ellison Thos. Wren Nest mill

Post Office Derbyshire Directory
Sumner Francis, cotton spinner & manufacturer, Wren nest mills, High street

Kelly’s Directory
Sumner Francis & Co. Lim. cotton spinner & manufacturers, (William Thorpe, manager), Wren nest mills

Directory 1891 Worrall’s Cotton Spinners
Francis Sumner and Co., Limited, Wren Nest Mills; 122,000 spindles; 2,541 looms, printers and shirtings. Pay day first Wednesday after the 15th. William Thorpe, manager; Theodore W. Ellison, secretary.

Ordnance Survey map 1897.

Kelly’s Directory
Sumner Francis & Co. Lim. cotton spinner & manufacturers, (William Thorpe, manager), Wren nest mills
Weetman Hoenry, mill manager, Wren Nest house

Kelly’s Directory
Sumner Francis & Co. Ltd. cotton spinner & manufrs, (Thomas Fielding, manager), Wren nest mills

Single storey 1913 extension to front with single storey weaving sheds under north-light roofs. Block to left includes walkway to adjacent building. Tall brick chimney stack dated 1913.

Kelly’sDirectory
Sumner Francis & Co. (1920) Limited, cotton spinners & manufrs. Wren Nest mills. T A ’Remus, Glossop;’ T N 10

The derelict mill in the 1970s. Photograph courtesy of Cliff Hales.

Repairs being done to the chimney at Wren Nest Mill. Photograph courtesy of Cliff Hales.

Part of Wren Nest Mill and chimney, both gone now. Photograph courtesy of Cliff Hales.

This photo shows Tesco (far right) just after its completion, Wren Nest Mill, Glossop Chimney and Glossop North End’s Surrey Street football ground. Photograph courtesy of Cliff Hales.

The Glossop flood 1971. Wren Nest Mill on the right and centre a Texaco petrol station (now Tesco petrol station). Photograph courtesy of Cliff Hales.

The London Gazette, 16 January 1973
FACTORIES ACT 1961
Employment of Women and Young Persons
In accordance with section 117 of the Factories Act 1961, the Secretary of State for Employment hereby gives notice that, during the month ending 31st December 1972 he has made special exemption orders relating to the employment of women and/or young persons at the following factories:
W. K. Blackburn Ltd. Wren Nest Mill, High Street West, Glossop.

Advertisement for Webstock Slings Ltd.

English Heritage Grade II Listed Building
Cotton spinning mill with integral engine house. c1840 with late C19 additions, and C20 alterations. Damaged by fire 1996, and subsequently reduced in size. Coursed millstone grit and
ashlar dressings with stone slate and C20 tile roofs. EXTERIOR: 5 storeys. 22 window facade and irregular 4 window sides, with irregular fenestration. South front has 22 windows, all under square headed lintels, mainly 8-pane to lower 4 floors, those to top floors smaller. 2 tall round headed windows to extreme left lit former integral engine house.
INTERIOR: massive wooden cross beams with joists and compounded double skimmed boards for added strength, supported by circular section cast-iron columns, the upper floors with
brackets. Roof of king post construction with struts. The roof valleys each have internal gutters. Originally had sprinkler system. Doors on sliding rail system. Later internal hoist.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: included in this listing is the stretch of watershot masonry walling to front of the mill, fronting onto High Street West.

Wren Nest mill, taken from Queen’s Street with the houses on High Street West in the foreground. Note the full mill and chimney before the major fire. Photograph courtesy of Glossop & District Historical Society.

Wren Nest Mill, during demolition, taken from Queen’s Street, note the narrow entrance to Queen’s Street. This is now Tesco’s car park and petrol station. Photograph courtesy of Glossop & District Historical Society.

Wren Nest mill, taken from Queen’s Street during demolition. This now Glossop Brook Road. Photograph courtesy of Glossop & District Historical Society.

The mill was devasted by a fire in 1996, with the loss of half of the main building and the brick built chimney.

BBC News
About 90 firefighters tackled the fire at the Wren’s Nest Mill on Glossop High Street on Friday. No-one was injured in the blaze, but it is believed about 70 flats suffered some sort of damage.

A £3.6M restoration projected started in March 2008 and finished 2009. Enabling works consisted of the total stripping out of the existing damaged walls and ceilings on each of the four floors. The roof structure was damaged beyond repair and therefore had to be replaced using traditional materials and methods, in keeping with the original planning consent. Refurbishment works consisted of floor repairs, lift shaft repairs and lift car replacements, staircase repairs and part replacement and the overhauling of the salvaged windows at lower levels. The ground floor retail units were fitted out as soon as the building was made watertight, which enabled the units to open their doors for trading after only 14 weeks.

Photo taken in 2014 by Glossop VAH.