Hope Mill Darwen 002

Hope Mill, Darwen.rnErected in 1856 by Eccles Shorrock (Ashton) for S.A Nicholls and W.T Ashton. William Thomas Ashton was a cousin of the builder and son of a Blackburn handloom maufacturer. The mill, first designed to hold 312 looms, had been enlarged to contain 510 looms by 1864. Nicholls and Ashron were also running Tackfield Shed and Alliance Mill, Baxenden, in the same period. Weaving by W.T Ashton and Sons Ltd ended in 1955 and the buildings were later sold to Evertaut. rnMike Rothwell.