Sunny Bank Mills, in Farsley, was founded in 1829 by a group of local weavers and grew to be one of the world’s most important fine worsted mills employing 900 local people. In 2008 the manufacture of worsted cloth ended leading to the mills' closure.
William and John Gaunt, 6th generation family owners, set out to find new uses for the mills which would create local employment while preserving the industrial heritage of the site. William and John developed a master planning framework and a series of imaginative regeneration schemes repurposing the mill buildings to create office, specialist retail, gallery, workshop spaces, café, bar, archive facilities and artist studios. As a result Sunny Bank Mills is now the single largest creative hub in the Leeds conurbation.
According to John Gaunt "Our regeneration of Sunny Bank Mills is rooted in the community and heritage of Yorkshire's wool industry. I love the energy, skills and passion that so many people bring to the mills" (A)
The Old Woollen
Old Woollen Mill
1912 Mill
1912 Mill
1912 Mill
William and John Gaunt, Sunny Bank Mills owners
John Gaunt
David Whitworth , Brainstorm Design
Helen Dryden, artist
Gallery Shop
