FROM Royal visits and Queen's awards, through various ups and downs, to being described as pioneering and true patriots - Drummond Mill has been part of the fabric of Bradford life for 155 years.

Built in 1861, according to Historic England, the mill is described on its website as 'a more sober application of Italianate detail than that first introduced by the architects for the Saltaire Mills'.

Designed by Lockwood and Mawson - who were also responsible for Bradford City Hall - the mill, complete with its famous tower, was acquired by businessmen Solomon Selka and Berthold Reif after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, who helped it survive during the Great Depression.

It was taken on by World War One veteran Ossie Stroud and his business partner James Riley in the 1940s.

The mill has also featured prominently in the Telegraph & Argus over the years.

In September 1968, Bradford East MP Edward Lyons paid a visit to the mills of James Drummond and Sons Ltd, and praised the directors and workers as "true patriots".

He was visiting the site to praise the firm on its export record. At the time, the company exported 60 per cent of its good to 69 countries.

In March 1971, the Telegraph & Argus reported that the company had pioneered a new cloth that combined polyester, worsted and linron, the Irish linen fibre.

The new cloth was unveiled in London, where Joseph Monaghan, a gold medalist tailor of St Stephen's Green in Dublin, said the triple blend had vast potential. Tom Gilbey, international designer of men's wear, said the material provided the qualities to meet future trends.

In May 1980, a new name appeared on the mill's towering chimney - Lendrick and Sons. But there was no takeover - the mill was just being used for a TV adaptation of John Braine's novel, Stay With Me Till Morning.

In April 1981, the Environment Secretary turned down an application to bulldoze the seven-storey New Mill, which was part of the complex.

The following December, Peter Green and Peter Greenwood climbed the famous tower to fix two 30-foot banners advertising a sale.

In November 1984, the Queen's Award for Export was awarded to the firm for increasing exports from £2.3 million to £6.5m in three years.

In April 1990, it was announced that Drummond had expanded its empire with the £500,000 takeover of John Crowther and Sons in Huddersfield.

The Drummond Group produced the fabric for the team uniforms worn by British athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

In June 1998, the firm reported a pre-tax loss of £3.1m. The following month, the company announced a partnership with a worsted manufacturer in Iran. In June 1999, Drummond announced a £1m profit.

In August 1999, Drummond Group invested £2m in 21 new high-speed looms and state-of-the-art finishing equipment.

In March 2000, the Telegraph & Argus covered a Royal visit to the mill by Princess Anne. The report it read: 'The Princess Royal yesterday paid a visit to the Drummond Group, one of the top ten worsted mills in the world and the only one to remain listed on the London Stock Exchange.'

The Princess was welcomed by, among others, seven-year-old Katie McKnight, daughter of one of the company's warpers. She was then taken on a tour of the factory where she talked to mill workers.

In the same story, Kath Foster, who worked for Drummond as a picker, said she had been with the company for more than 43 years.

Job cuts were threatened in June 2000, before a French group stepped in the following month to save the firm from receivership. However, 100 jobs were still set to be lost. Then, in August 2000, £2m of shares were sold off to help finance the job losses.

Current owners, Khalid Pervaiz and his sons Zeb and Saj have had the site for the last 16 years. Since 2005, it has had tenants and been used for storage.