Dean Clough
Coordinates: 53°43′41″N 1°51′43″W / 53.728°N 1.862°W
Dean Clough in Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, is a group of large factory buildings built in the 1840s–60s for Crossley's Carpets, becoming one of the world's largest carpet factories (half a mile long with 1,250,000 square feet (116,000 m2) of floorspace). After years of declining production it closed in 1983, when it was bought by a consortium led by Sir Ernest Hall which developed the Grade II listed site for various commercial and cultural uses. It is now seen as a leading example of successful urban regeneration. Dean Clough is located on the north side of Halifax near the Victorian North Bridge and the modern flyover sections of the Burdock Way relief road system. The converted mills now house about 150 large and small businesses and arts venues including Crossley Gallery and several other art galleries and the Viaduct Theatre, home base for the Northern Broadsides theatre company.Phoenix Radio 96.7 FM has its studios in D Mill and Lloyds Banking Group has offices in G Mill.
John Crossley, with his brother Thomas, and James Travis first leased Dean Clough Mills in 1802. When this lease expired after twenty years John Crossley took on a new lease in his own name. After his death in 1837, at which time three hundred people were employed, his three sons, John, Joseph and Francis, continued the business as John Crossley and Sons. They formed a joint stock company in 1864, becoming one of the first limited liability companies in Britain. It was this company that built the very large mills on the site between 1841 and 1869, together with large sheds which have now been demolished. Around 1855 the alphabetical naming system was introduced for the mills. There were also other premises in Halifax, employing five thousand people by 1900. The company also operated at Kidderminster and had warehouses in London and Manchester. During the two world wars production changed from carpets to military supplies such as webbing, blankets and khaki yarn for uniforms. When Chairman Patrick Crossley retired in 1970 the company moved its headquarters to Kidderminster, and it was decided in 1982 to close the Dean Clough site. One of the Crossley family is still involved in carpet making on a much smaller scale at neighbouring Haley Hill.
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