JCB Academy, Stafforshire
Apr 14, 2010 by Blair Poole
Tutbury Mill also known as the Arkwright Mill, in Rocester, Staffordshire, will house the new JCB Academy for 11-18 year olds to specialise in engineering, manufacturing and business. The development aims to be the UK’s first fully sustainable school building, refurbished and extended under the UK government’s PFI Academies Programme.
A Grade II listed structure, both the mill and mill house lie within the Rocester Conservation Area. Previous desk based research shows that the site was a Medieval monastic centre which was built over during the 18th century. The mill is of both regional and national significance due to its role in the area’s industrial growth, notably its associations with Richard Arkwright, one of the most important individuals in the industrialisation of the textile industry.
L – P : Archaeology liaised with East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Archaeologist on behalf of the client, who advised that an historic building survey on the mill should take place prior to refurbishment, with an archaeological watching brief on external areas being prepared for extra school buildings.
The earliest construction layers at the mill date to the late 18th century. Twelve subsequent construction phases were identified during the building survey; these included late 18th century and early 19th century extensions to the south and west. The mill was enclosed into a single structure in the late 19th century.
Only a limited number of features from the early mill survive, such as a shaft and bearing boxes on both the ground and 3rd floors, as well as blocked up arches associated with the wheel pit and fixings that powered the original and later mills.
| Client: | BuroFour on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools & Families |
| Site: | The JCB Academy, Rocester, Staffordshire |
| Development type: | Education, Regeneration |
| Project Value: | £22 million |