Elk Mill opened in Oldham in 1927. Lancashire had long been a global centre for cotton manufacturing, and Oldham had developed a specialism as a spinning town. By 1890, Oldham’s mills were responsible for 12% of the world’s cotton spinning capacity. Cotton dominated the town’s economy, providing employment for tens of thousands of local people. Elk Mill was the last mule spinning mill ever to be built in Britain, designed by architect A Turner and Son, and run by the company Shiloh Spinners. The cotton mill cost ¼ million to build, had 107,240 spindles and employed 400 people. At the time Elk Mill was built, the industry was in decline — Elk Mill’s modern technology was seen as a potential solution for this decline, and provided work for many working class mill workers in Greater Manchester.