fri 29/03/2024

The Mill - City of Dreams, Drummonds Mill, Bradford | reviews, news & interviews

The Mill - City of Dreams, Drummonds Mill, Bradford

The Mill - City of Dreams, Drummonds Mill, Bradford

The building is the star in a site-specific promenade show

Cardboard city: In 'The Mill - City of Dreams' a property developer shares his plans for swish civic reinvention

Bradford, once the worsted capital of the world, now employs fewer than 1,000 workers in the textile industry. Some of the disused mills have been transformed into tourist attractions – nearby Salts Mill has a huge collection of artwork by David Hockney and a posh bistro. Drummonds Mill has lain silent since closure, to be reopened temporarily for Freedom Studios’ production of The Mill – City of Dreams. Drummonds Mill is just north of the city centre. It’s a huge hulk of a building. You step carefully over the cobbles, and weeds, before being directed in through a back door by smiling security guards. The mill originally opened in 1862, closing for the last time in 2002. At the entrance, a huge banner announces that luxury flats are under development.

Bradford, once the worsted capital of the world, now employs fewer than 1,000 workers in the textile industry. Some of the disused mills have been transformed into tourist attractions – nearby Salts Mill has a huge collection of artwork by David Hockney and a posh bistro. Drummonds Mill has lain silent since closure, to be reopened temporarily for Freedom Studios’ production of The Mill – City of Dreams. Drummonds Mill is just north of the city centre. It’s a huge hulk of a building. You step carefully over the cobbles, and weeds, before being directed in through a back door by smiling security guards. The mill originally opened in 1862, closing for the last time in 2002. At the entrance, a huge banner announces that luxury flats are under development.

There’s the sense that, despite the monotony and drudgery of the work, mill life was stable and communal

Share this article

Add comment

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters