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'I want to take this mill on its next adventure'

Lee BottomleyCheshire
News imageBBC A woman with long blonde hair and wearing a navy top is smiling widely. She is standing in front of a red brick wall and a black door with a white frameBBC
Di Fawkes has bought the landmark canalside building she lived opposite as a child

A woman who has bought a landmark historic building in the village she grew up in said it was a privilege to be part of what happens to it next.

Di Fawkes has taken on the former mill on the Shropshire Union Canal in Audlem, Cheshire. It will be known as Kingbur Mill, after the original owner, Kingsley Burton.

The building, which is more than 100 years old, started life producing animal feed before later becoming a shop until its closure in 2024.

Now the 48-year-old is preparing to bring it back to life, starting with a holiday let on the top floor, and is looking for tenants to occupy the two floors below. She also hopes to have a cafe; sell artisan goods, as well as workshops and run courses.

News imageThe side view of a tall red brick building, with the words Audlem Mill Canal Shop and Workshop painted in black and white below a row of windows
The last business at the mill closed in November 2024

Fawkes, who works in cybersecurity, grew up across the canal from the mill and used to spend her pocket money there as a child.

At that time it was "a bazaar with loads of different things you could choose from and ice cream; always ice cream", she said.

When the last owners closed their business in November 2024, she would walk past the empty building, wondering what its future would be.

Her purchase of the site last summer had been both a head and heart one, and while owning it was overwhelming, it was also "exciting to take this mill to the next part of its adventure", she said.

Fawkes hopes her vision for the building will appeal to both locals and boaters passing through.

It sits between two pubs, including one she used to work in, and is on a stretch of canal known for its series of 15 locks.

"It turns out it's a very, very famous stretch of canal. . . and a lot of people like to challenge themselves to do the Audlem locks."

"I would like to think that we would be part of the reason why boaters would stop here; there's already enough reason," she said.

News imageLooking down on a large white building alongside a canal, with a barge moored at the side. There are cars parked to the side and back of the building and there is greenery all around.
The view of the Shropshire Union Canal from the top floor of the mill

The mill will be open to showcase its potential as part of the Audlem Music and Arts Festival at the end of May.

News imageA large suspended wooden cone shaped structure points towards the ground, with a hessian sack covering the end. It is in the corner of a large room with white walls, black framed windows and a red floor.
The hopper on the ground floor is from the time when animal feed was produced in the mill

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