Pure Bliss

 Years ago, I spotted an amazing structure as my love and I zoomed along a country road somewhere in the Cotswolds, on a family visit to the area. There wasn't time to investigate further, and I expected never to see that intriguing bit of England's history again. 

This summer I spent a delightful 10 days with dear family near Stow on the Wold; a daily routine of "drop me off in [selected village name here]" led to a number of delightful solo rambles, time to explore and photograph every gorgeous historic  home, shop, townscape. 

 On the way home from a day in Chipping Norton, I was astonished to see my mystery building, and to learn its history. With considerable effort, given traffic and the perennial tight spaces, my dear brother-in-law got us off the road and into the property.

We were on the parklike site of the historic Bliss Tweed Mill! In that wonderful way the the UK and Europe have, the building had been preserved and repurposed after its days as a woolen mill ended in the early 20th century. Today the iconic industrial structure has been spruced up and offers luxury flats. If only Ontario would do this more often! You can see hints of the ironframed brick vault construction in the featured apartment.

The aesthetic appeal of the structure! A five-storey Italian Renaissance countryhouse was evoked by its symmetry, corner towers, limestone facing and classical elements like string courses and roofline adornments. The impressive chimney stack rises like a Tuscan tower from a drum and dome above the roofline.

historic postcard

This is what historian Harold Hurrell* has to say about the reason for such display: "the use of architectural embellishment on industrial buildings was probably intended to secure the approval of socially powerful individuals and groups by display of the owner's entrepreneurial ambition to social and aesthetic concerns...social self aggrandisement..." Lest we judge Wm. Bliss too harshly for that bit of snobbery, we must also look at his creation of workers' housing on the property, in close proximity to the family home in its parklike setting. The Bliss family maintained a patriarchal relationship with their happy workers, until the early twentieth century.  

I have long been fascinated by the history of the industrial revolution in England - while appalled at the human misery it brought about. I am especially drawn to British industrial architecture  - its iron bridges, networks of canals, factories and ingenious machinery (always patiently explained by my dear engineer.)

At the fine Chipping Norton Museum of Local History on the High Street, I grabbed the few moments before closing to dash through the displays of Bliss tweeds, photos, awards and Bliss family history and acquire a couple of local histories from the charming and enthusiastic volunteer.  

My focus is on the social (and architectural) aspects of the mill. My resident engineer would have helped out with the functional aspects. Should your interests tip that way, I recommend the following: the small but mighty history volumes *The Bliss Mill - Chipping Norton by Harold Hurrell and The Wool Trade in Chipping Norton, by Janice Cliffe.

A visit to the magnificent Burford Church nearby spoke eloquently about the power and riches emanating from the area's wool trade. Characteristic woolsack tombs, with their rounded tops like sacks of wool memorialize industrialists like William Bliss and his sons.    

Here are a couple of articles, should you wish to read more. The Revolting Tweed-makers is a must. Hermione Taylor gets credit for this great observation: "Depending on who you ask, Bliss mill is considered architecturally outstanding or looking like a toilet plunger." There are some fine photos at John Shortland's entry on his Life in the English Cotswolds blog. And Wikipedia has a good article on all aspects of British industrial architecture: I shall come back to it when I tell you about my adventures at Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.