Times No. 2 Mill, Middleton

The foundations of the Times No. 2 Mill, Middleton, are making good progress. The mill will contain 174,000 spindles, and the contracts have been so advantageously let that it is expected that the mill will be built for about £1 per spindle. No contractor or machinist has been allowed to take up shares. Mr. Jonathan Partington, of Middleton Junction, is the contractor, and Messrs. Potts, Son and Hennings of Oldham and Manchester, the architects. [Cotton Factory Times - Friday 22 February 1907 page 5]

During the Edwardian boom of 1904-7 Potts undertook his final contracts in the Oldham district for John Bunting, the leading mill magnate of Lancashire. The Bell mill (1904), with 130,176 spindles, was the largest mill so far built and was the 162nd mill designed by Potts. The Iris mill (1907) was built in the record time of four months and became the first ring mill in the Bunting group. In 1907-08 Potts designed for Bunting the Times mill no. 2 at Middleton which, with 160,000 spindles, fulfilled Bunting's wish to become the proprietor of the world's largest mill.

Reference    Cotton Factory Times - Friday 22 February 1907 page 5