The Council has successfully secured a Townscape Heritage Initiative worth £2.6 million for Glossop Town Centre.
The Glossopdale THI will run for five years and will deliver a number of heritage led regeneration schemes, through grant aiding the repair and restoration of historic buildings in the town centre.
The Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) is a grant-giving programme set up by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The HLF support schemes are led by partnerships of local, regional and national stakeholders, all of whom have a one key aim - to regenerate the historic environment in our towns and cities across the United Kingdom.
Together, all organisations combine funds to create a Common Fund, specifically targeted towards individual conservation projects and heritage improvements, which make up the THI scheme.
Glossop has a significant historical association with the development of the textile industry in Derbyshire. The early cottage industry was scattered around seven small hillside communities and expanded into small workshops.
During the industrial revolution, the textile industry took off and the development of mills were necessary to house the latest spinning machinery. Over time, this led to the need for even larger mill buildings and the development of Glossop, as we know it today, focused around Howard Town Mill or Howard Town, as it is known locally.
As a result of the town’s historical evolution, Glossop’s architectural merit is also diverse, with a mixture of building types and urban landscapes that are dramatically different in style, density, scale and appearance.
The heart of the town is characterised by mid 19th century commercial development, interspersed with a number of significant public and administrative buildings from the same period. Development in this area is high density and centres around the main crossroads of High Street and Norfolk Street or Victoria Street. The town’s commercial character extends east and west along the High Street.
The high architectural quality of the town’s public and administrative buildings and the scale and architecture of the surviving mill buildings are key components of the town’s heritage and character.
The many small shops along the main streets of the town represent social and economic continuity in a town, where many of the traditional industries have long since disappeared. Collectively, these small vernacular buildings comprise the largest component of the remaining historic fabric of the town centre. This makes it all the more important to repair and re-instate the historic fabric of Glossop Town centre, through the THI scheme to ensure that Glossop’s character and heritage are retained for future generations.