Derby Industrial Museum
The long connection with silk production ended in about 1908 when F.W. Hampshire and Company, the Chemists, moved into the buildings to make fly papers and cough medicines. On 5 December 1910 at 5.00 am, fire broke out in the near flour mill of Sowter Bothers and soon the flame spread to the Silk Mill. The mill's east wall fell into the river and the whole building was burnt up. Great efforts were made by the Borough Fire Brigade and the Midland Railway Company who saved the shell of the tower and the outline of the doorways leading into the original five floors. These can still be seen today on the tower staircase. The building was rebuilt at the same height but with three stories instead of five and remains that way today.