Fall Lane Mill

The first mention of Fall Lane Mill is in 1864 when it was sold at auction at the Swan public house. Prior to that the mill site on Fall Lane was occupied by a small mill called Kiln Croft Mill which is marked on the 1854 O.S. map as a woollen mill. It is not known whether this mill was demolished prior to the building of the new mill or perhaps integrated when the new Fall Lane Mill was built.

In 1865 Fall Lane Mill was leased by Isaac Bottomley and was commonly called 'Old Isaac's Mill' during his occupation. He retired and his scribbling and carding machinery were sold in 1870. William and Elon Crowther took the mill over in 1871 but only stayed for three years before moving their own business to Slaithwaite. The business continued with carding and spinning. Sometime later the mill added weaving and a new weaving shed was built in 1887. Disaster struck in 1899 when the mill suffered serious fire damage which destroyed the weaving shed.

In addition to the severity of relations between workers and management there was also a softer side. It was the custom of many of the local mills to provide 'treats' for their workers usually in the form of tea parties but occasionally a more elaborate gesture was made. On 25th August, 1907 a railway trip to Blackpool was given by Crowther employees to celebrate the marriage of George Crowther. Free admission to the tower was included but the day did not end happily for some members of the trip who fell asleep and were carried all the way to Huddersfield. They had to walk back to Marsden.

Fall Lane mill became obsolete and remained empty for many years. The main building was completely destroyed by fire in 1984. The remaining part of the mill is now a gymnasium for public use.