Derbyshire's unique 42m-tall brick mill chimney to go under the hammer for just £5,000

Milford is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, an industrial village built between 1780 and 1850 by the Strutt family to house workers for their vast, water-powered textile mills. Now, the village’s landmark, 42m-high mill chimney, located on the A6 and visible for miles around, is set to go up for auction with a £5,000 guide price.

The towering chimney, built in 1901 to replace an earlier structure, will appear among over 100 other properties and plots of land in the next online live-streamed auction to be held by SDL Property Auctions, part of Eddisons, on 30 January.

According to auctioneers, potential new uses for the structure, which has a diameter of 4m and is said to be in good condition, could include conversion to a “quirky studio”, subject to planning consent, or as a communications or advertising platform.

Andrew Parker, auctioneer and a partner at SDL Property Auctions, said: “Our team have had years of experience of selling unusual lots, from nuclear bunkers to Welsh reservoirs, but this has to be one of the most extraordinary properties we have ever auctioned - and it has already attracted significant interest from industrial history enthusiasts keen to own their own fascinating piece of heritage.”

He added: “The chimney has become surplus to requirements now that the surrounding mill buildings have been redeveloped and it will be sold to the highest bidder at auction. I think we are all intrigued to see who will buy this imposing structure – and what they will do with it.”

For more information about the mill chimney, or to register to bid remotely online, on the phone or by proxy, go to sdlauctions.co.uk. The auction will be live streamed online on 30 January, with bidder registration closing on 29 January.