We welcome the gradual return to view of the Canon Mill after its disappearance behind scaffolding in 2023.
We also welcome the fact that the building – variously listed as 1–3 Canon Street, 11 Canon Street, and 39 Eyre Place – has emerged not looking too top-heavy or resembling a monstrous frog after the addition of mansard windows at the front.
The retail space at ground-floor level is now being marketed, with bids invited for rents of £15,000 per year or more for the 604 sq.ft floorspace. A rateable value has still to be assessed.
Another cause for celebration is the return to the building of some rooftop friends who long delighted passing children and intrigued adults bamboozled by what, if any, was the narrative connection between them.
We’re talking about the owl …
the fox …
the kingfisher …
and the cockerel.
The latter has acquired some colour since its last appearance.
As yet, we can find no trace of the former rear extension's squirrel …
and magpie.
These locals were not traditional features of the late 17th/early 18th-century structure, which ceased operations as a mill in 1867. (For more history see Issue 322, p.2.) They were added following internal refurbishment of the building in 1987.
Does any reader remember why these particular creatures were chosen, or to which business they first drew attention?
Tell us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk.
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