IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Hallcroft Court, SHREWSBURY, SY1 2AF

Factory Bridge, rebuilt 1913 has only the parapet on the south side of the A5191 surviving, but traces of the other may survive as brickwork reduced to near pavement level. The canal traffic dwindled to nothing in the 1930s and was formally abandoned in 1944.

The footpath here follows the line of the old Shrewsbury Canal I think. This sign is one of the few remaining elements of that era.

The plaque would have been on the bridge that took St Michael's Street over the Shrewsbury Canal and took its name from the nearby flaxmill. It is in near enough its original location as this cycleway follows the line of the former canal.

The building, originally a pub as shown on the 1902 map, has an unusual double-pitched roof. It is currently for sale but was most recently used as a hair salon. There is a postbox in the wall. See Image for further comment.

Grade 2 listed extennsion to the main mill building. The Shrewsbury Canal ran approimately 30feet from the face of the building. The photograph is taken on the approximate line of canal.

The cycleway roughly follows the line of the former Shrewsbury Canal. See Image for more details of the old mill buildings.

The Grade 1 listed flax mill was built in 1796-7. It was designed to be fireproof and was the first fully iron framed mill building. As such it can be seen as the forerunner of the modern skyscraper. Further buildings such as warehouses, workshops, apprentice houses and blacksmiths shops were added in the early 1800s. Shrewsbury was a centre of the wool industry being a gateway for the sheep farms in the Welsh Borders. There was a small industry using locally grown flax however the new mill used imported flax from the Low Countries. The Shrewsbury Canal completed in 1797 fronted on to the near face of the building connecting Shrewsbury to the coal mines at Oakengates and in the 1830s to the Shropshire Union Canal at Norbury Junction. The canal was abandoned in the 1940s. The mill was sold in 1896 and converted to maltings. The open floors and fireproof construction leant itself to this new use and at this stage many of the windows on the frontage were infilled. The Grade 2 listed kiln building at the right hand end of the building was constructed. This usage continued until 1986 passing through a number of owners including Ansell's and Allied Breweries. An uncertain period followed including a period on the English Heritage 'at risk' Register. Work has recently started to protect the building fabric with the involvement of developers, Urban Splash, to find a long term future for the complex.

Albrew Maltsters

The track at the rear of the complex leads down to the railway. These buildings may be from the later Maltings period of usage.