HemingwayDesign to create new brand for Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings

HemingwayDesign have been commissioned to create the brand for Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, one of the most important buildings in England’s industrial past and forerunner to the modern skyscraper.

The Flaxmill site is gradually being brought back to life through a careful restoration and refurbishment process and the new branding will reflect this, whilst helping to put the Flaxmill at the heart of the local community once more.

Hemingway Design has a track record of innovative and engaging place branding. The team, led by Wayne Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, have experience working with heritage destinations having led the successful relaunch of 19th century amusement park Dreamland in Margate, and more recently being commissioned by City of York Council to create a tourism brand for the City of York.

Wayne Hemingway of HemingwayDesign said: “When we heard that we had won this project the whole team did a joyful dance around the office. The ingredients are all there for a nationally significant project. Flaxmill Maltings is a truly stunning series of historical industrial buildings with such an evocative history and important back story. The great thing about this project for us is that Historic England, whilst being incredibly diligent about the regeneration, are ready to be bold and future-facing in their thinking about the next phases of use for the site. Its location in Shrewsbury, a beautiful and vibrant place that’s bucking the trend of town centre decline through its determined independent spirit, completes the recipe.”

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: “The Flaxmill embodies creativity, change and innovation. HemingwayDesign’s creative vision will bring to life the spirit and atmosphere of this unique site, helping to put it back on the world map. The new brand will tap into local energy and reflect the personality and vision of this special place, helping people to understand its past and be inspired by its future.”

Alan Mosley, Chair of the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings commented: 

“We are delighted that HemingwayDesign have been appointed and are very confident that they will further raise the local, regional and international profile of the site and its incredible transformation.  Their work will reflect the successful phases of the site’s unique heritage while establishing values, image and sense of purpose to guide the exciting developments to come.”

The Flaxmill stands for constant reinvention

HemingwayDesign has been commissioned to create a visionary brand that reflects the revolutionary spirit of the site and its history of ground-breaking innovation.

The Flaxmill embodies over two centuries of setting new standards in engineering, construction and industry. It is a site that has constantly reinvented itself and embraced change.

Its future use as a new learning and enterprise quarter for Shrewsbury, with high quality offices for the region’s growing creative industries, will help drive the town’s renaissance as a regional economic hub, as it was when Shropshire led the way in the Industrial Revolution.

Saving the iron crown

The crowning glory of the Flaxmill is a cast iron coronet placed at the highest point of the site, which has now become a local landmark and Shrewsbury icon.

Historic England is half way through a crowd funding campaign to save the crown, which was added in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The symbolic emblem is decaying fast as over time its intricate iron-work has fractured and the paint work is peeling away. Historic England hopes to raise £26,000 with a crowd funding campaign for its urgent restoration.