The Gallery Studio
Hope Mill
Hope Mill is an inspirational place to visit.
The mill buzzes with a mix of inner city energy and the spirit of endeavour that Manchester is famous for.
The historical richness of the Grade 2* listed mill continues to resonate with it’s past industrial splendour.
The mill now enjoys a contemporary vitality borne out of the mill’s re-imagined designation
as home to Manchester’s largest creative hub of artists, designers, photographers, and Hope Mill theatre.
Read a brief history of Hope Mill here>
Hope Mill
Spiral stone staircase + lift
Corner entrance door under canopy
AWOL Studios
AWOL Studios occupies 4 floors within Hope Mill and is home to over 80 creative businesses and artists.
AWOL Studios sits on the fringe of a revitalised Ancoats, that has seen urban regeneration
turn a forgotten corner of our city into the hippest suburb of Manchester.
The suburb bursts with an independent spirit, and is home to a plethora of creative businesses.
Creative Art Courses is proud to be part of this vibrant and creative city.
Facilities
The mill building has a lift (somewhat Victorian in character!) and a characterful main spiral stone staircase. We have the benefit of central heating in winter (a real bonus compared to other mill conversions); shared toilet facilities; kitchen/relaxation area; and equipment washing facilities.
Accessibility
Unfortunately the building is not fully wheelchair accessible or DDA compliant. If you have any specific access needs, please let me know before booking. I try my best to ensure my courses are as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Studio with swinging side wall panels
Studio as an exhibition space
Studio as a creative teaching space
Creative Art Courses
Creative Art Courses is part of AWOL studios and occupies The Gallery Studio on the 5th floor of Hope Mill.
I joined AWOL studios in 2005 and started teaching my courses in 2010.
The Gallery Studio that I now occupy was originally designed as an art gallery and has 3 walls that pivot enabling me to have the use of an open space for exhibitions.
It enables students to enjoy a wider more open space during some of my courses.
The studio enjoys panoramic views across Ancoats towards Manchester’s North Quarter and city centre.
But more importantly, find out below what my students think about the Gallery studio within this enigmatic Grade 2* listed mill.
VIDEos to watch
What do my students think?
The Gallery Studio
Excellent. Has a friendly social vibe. Very artistic and friendly
Neat and tidy. Very organised and well equipped. Big enough and warm.
Excellent venue – light, warm, airy
Spacious, lots of natural daylight. Well equipped.
Warm, good space for art, don’t feel we can’t be messy.
AWOL Studios + Hope Mill
Loved the old building [Hope Mill]. Arty atmosphere, plenty of space and light.
Interesting, love these old mills – a great relaxed environment.
Hope Mill building is large, a bit intimidating.
Hope Mill: Cold, lots of stairs but amazing artist display.
Interesting, love these old mills – a great relaxed environment.
“Hope Mill was one of the earliest developments in the
world’s first industrialised city.”
Hope Mill history
Hope Mill was one of the earliest developments in the new industrial suburb created alongside the Ashton Canal in the 1820’s. In 1824, the owners, Joseph Clarke and Sons purchased an 80 horse-power mill beam engine from Boulton and Watt of Birmingham. By 1880, the area was fully developed, with a large number of steam- powered industrial complexes. In the early C20, Hope Mill was occupied by John Hetherington and Sons, manufacturers of textile machinery, based at Vulcan Works further west on Pollard Street.
Listed building
Hope Mill is a Gade 2* listed building and is one of the best-preserved examples of its type in Manchester. The Mill retains extensive evidence for the evolution of successive power systems, and which includes an innovative prefabricated iron roofing system.
This important component structure demonstrates an understanding by the designers of the principles of compression and tension acting in roof structures, and is related to similar early iron roof structures in contemporary mill developments in Ancoats.
Ancoats
Hope Mill makes a strong contribution to the international significance of this part of Manchester as the prototypical industrial suburb. The Mill along with Ancoats’ wider heritage represents the extent and density of Manchester’s textile and engineering industry at its peak, and together constitutes an historical industrial landscape of international significance.
