Lister Mills (otherwise known as Manningham Mills) was the largest silk factory in the world. It is located in the Manningham district of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and was built by Samuel Cunliffe Lister to replace the original Manningham Mills which had been destroyed by fire in 1871. The mill is a Grade II* listed building, built in the Italianate style of Victorian architecture. History On completion in 1873, Lister's was the largest textile mill in the north of England. Floor space in the mill amounts to , and its imposing shape remains a dominant feature of the Bradford skyline. The chimney of the mill is high, and can be seen from most areas of Bradford. It cost about £10,000 to build, and its total weight has been estimated at . Samuel Lister called it "Lister's Pride". Until the arrival of electric power in 1934, the mill was driven by huge steam engines. Every week the boilers consumed 1,000 tons of coal brought in on company rail wagons from the company collieries near Pontefract. Water was also vital in the process and the company had its own supply network including a large covered reservoir on-site (now in 2006 that area is a piazza and underground car park). At its height, Lister's employed 11,000 men, women and children – manufacturing high-quality textiles such as velvet and silk. It supplied of velvet for King George V's coronation and in 1976 new velvet curtains for the President Ford White House. During the Second World War Lister's produced of real parachute silk, of flame-proof wool, of khaki battledress and of parachute cord. A strike in 1890–91 at the mill was important in the establishment of the Independent Labour Party which later helped found the modern-day Labour Party. Decline The Listers' business decreased considerably during the 1980s. Stiff foreign competition and changing textile trends such as increased use of artificial fibres were the reasons. In 1999 the mills were closed. Being a prominent structure the mills attracted a great deal of attention and several regeneration proposals came and went. The sheer size of the buildings being a major difficulty. However local residents, former workers and, notably, Reverend George Moffat never lost hope that the mills would rise again. They campaigned hard to save the mills. Rebirth In 2000 property developers Urban Splash bought the mills. They planned to renovate the existing larger buildings and build