17th January 2025
Milford’s 42m-tall brick mill chimney to go under the hammer for just £5,000
The Grade II listed brick mill chimney at Milford, near Belper in Derbyshire, will go up for auction this month, offering potential bidders the chance to own a unique piece of what were some of the world’s first mechanised industrial cotton factories.
Milford is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, an industrial village built between 1780 and 1850 by the Strutt family to house workers for their vast, water-powered textile mills. Now, the village’s landmark, 42m-high mill chimney, located on the A6 and visible for miles around, is set to go up for auction with a £5,000+ guide price.
The towering chimney, built in 1901 to replace an earlier structure, will appear among over 225 other properties and plots of land in the next online live-streamed auction to be held by SDL Property Auctions, part of Eddisons, on Thursday 30th January.
According to auctioneers, potential new uses for the structure, which has a diameter of 4m and is said to be in good condition, could include conversion to a “quirky studio”, subject to planning consent, or as a communications or advertising platform.
Andrew Parker, auctioneer and a partner at SDL Property Auctions, said: “Our team have had years of experience of selling unusual lots, from nuclear bunkers to Welsh reservoirs, but this has to be one of the most extraordinary properties we have ever auctioned – and it has already attracted significant interest from industrial history enthusiasts keen to own their own fascinating piece of heritage.”
He added: “The chimney has become surplus to requirements now that the surrounding mill buildings have been redeveloped and it will be sold to the highest bidder at auction. I think we are all intrigued to see who will buy this imposing structure – and what they will do with it.”
For more information about the mill chimney, or to register to bid remotely online, on the phone or by proxy, click here. The auction will be live streamed online on Thursday 30th January, with bidder registration closing at 5pm on Wednesday 29th January.