It is housed in one of the seven floors of the Pear New Mill Spinning Mill at Bedbury in Stockport, which was one of the last cotton spinning mills to be built in England, starting production in 1913.
With its vast chimney looming over the River Goyt representing the scale of Manchester’s and Stockport’s former cotton industry, the now Grade II-listed building, built of terracotta-detailed red Accrington brick and with large windows, ceased operation as a textile mill in 1978.
Originally designed to spin the best Egyptian cotton, at one time it employed 300 workers.
Also known as Pear Mill, the Stockport Vintage Emporium, with a floor space of 26,000sq ft, the size of two football pitches, is owned by Tom Brown and opened last year.
The space is packed out with 70 dealers, taking multiple spaces to sell antiques, vintage and retro wares, and many customers make regular trips to shop for vintage.
