‘We want to see it working again’: Historic Leeds watermill begins major restoration
‘This isn't a job for four blokes with a set of keys’ - huge restoration of historic Leeds mill set to start to bring it back to life
A Leeds landmark left silent for more than two years is set to roar back into life, as new owners begin a huge restoration project.
The new owners of Thwaite Mills are now calling on people who know its creaking machinery best to help bring it back to working order.
The Grade II listed watermill, which is based in Stourton, is being transformed into a working museum, canal-side pub and cafe, with its 19-acre island site opened up for walkers, families and community events.
Will Habergham, Terry George, Michael Rothwell and Kirk Allen have taken ownership of the site and will begin a full restoration this week, more than two years after the mill closed to the public in April 2024.
The work is expected to take around 12 months and will be carried out alongside volunteers from Friends of Thwaite Mills, the supporters' group the new owners are relaunching as part of the project. No reopening date has been set.
Its new owners are looking for millwrights, engineers, joiners, stonemasons, archivists, and former staff and volunteers - anyone who knows how the mill's machinery, water wheels and buildings work - to come forward and help get the site running again.
"There will be people out there who know this mill better than we do, people who worked here, volunteered here, or just understand how a place like this goes back together," said Terry George.
"We want to hear from them. If you've got the knowledge, the skills or just the enthusiasm, come and find us.
“This isn't a job for four blokes with a set of keys. We want to see it working again, and we want it to be a thing of beauty.”
Early plans include reopening the mill as a working museum, with the mill owner's cottage becoming a traditional canal-side pub and the old ticket office reopening as a cafe.
Longer term, they hope to add weddings and small music events.
"Thwaite Mills was saved by its community once before, and it'll be brought back by its community now,“ said Will Habergham, director of Thwaite Mills.
"We're not going to disappear for a year and come back with a ribbon to cut.
“We want people watching it happen, turning up, and telling us what they want this place to be.
"The owner's cottage plans are for a proper traditional canal-side pub, and the old ticket office will be the cafe," he added.
"There's so much land here that the beer garden can be huge. Nineteen acres, on its own island, minutes from the city centre. It's been bought for the community of Leeds, and that's who it's for.“
Built between 1823 and 1825, Thwaite Mills worked first as a flax mill and later produced whiting and paint, operating commercially until 1975, when a broken weir threatened its future.
Local volunteers stepped in to save it the following year, and it opened as a museum in 1990, welcoming visitors until it closed in April 2024.
The relaunched Friends of Thwaite Mills is open to anyone, including former members of the original Thwaite Mills Society.
Members will receive regular updates, be invited to volunteer days and have a direct hand in shaping the mill's next chapter.
The restoration will be documented as it happens through a social media diary rather than held back for a single announcement.
Members of the public can find out more, sign up as a Friend of Thwaite Mills, offer skills or knowledge and follow the restoration diary at www.thwaitemills.com and on social media at @thwaitemills.