More than 100 years of history came crumbling down this morning (October 1) due to the demolition of the chimney at a cotton mill in Oldham.

The chimney at Hartford Mill was the last piece in the puzzle of a demolition which started in 2020 but which stalled due to coronavirus.

Opened in the 1900s, the cotton mill was operational until the 1950s, and it was used by retailer Littlewoods in the decades afterwards.

The Oldham Times: The view from Block Lane

However, it was empty for the last 30 years or so of its life, and it became a hotspot for anti-social behaviour and criminal behaviour including fly-tipping.

On Sunday, at around 10am, a crowd of hundreds of residents assembled to see the demolition of the chimney at the cotton mill.

A lot of them were residents evacuated from the area for the work but some of them were residents attracted from elsewhere in order to see the spectacle.

The Oldham Times: The view from Block Lane

And at around 10.45am, 45 minutes after advertised, there was a big bang before over 100 years of history came crumbling down.

Previously the leader of Oldham Council, Arooj Shah, said: "I'm told knocking down any chimney, especially one which is close to housing, is complex. That's why it remained standing while the rest of the mill was bulldozed.

"The removal of it is an important milestone in this project and, once it's gone, the site can be cleared so it can be used for much-needed new housing.

"The council does everything it can to support building on brownfield land to reduce pressure to build on the Green Belt. This site is an example of this.

"The demolition will inconvenience residents living close to the site but it will only be for a small period of time and our teams are in touch with them." 

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.