Over recent years it has been left to rot, but Temple Works was once a majestic building that contained both the world's largest room and the world's very first hydraulic lift.
It has now stood proudly in Holbeck, Leeds, for almost 200 years and it strikes an incredible resemblance to two Egyptian temples on which its design is centred around.
The giant mill - which covers two-acres of ground - is a sight to behold even nowadays, but when it was first built in 1836, it was a gargantuan building of epic proportions.
In fact, the huge factory floor, where more than a thousand people used to work, was once the single biggest room in the entire world.
Temple Works was commissioned by John Marshall, the founder of the Leeds flax industry.
He was fascinated by the booming flax trade in Egypt during the 18th and 19th Centuries, so he sent a colleague out to northern Africa to study their practices.
The design of Temple Works, with 18 full-height windows, 18 pillars and an overhanging cornice, is remarkably similar to the Egyptian temples, Antaeopolis and Horus.
Throughout the 19th Century, Leeds was the epicentre of the flax industry, with Temple Works a focal point in the city.
A few years later, it became the hub for a futuristic technological advancement as a hydraulic lift was installed to transport sheep to the roof. Yes, really.
The livestock were placed there to graze on grass, which grew on the roof to bring moisture into the factory below and maintain warm temperatures. This was to prevent the linen thread from becoming dried out and therefore breaking.
Temple Works became a normal textile mill shortly before 1900 and then morphed into the northern headquarters of Kay’s catalogue in the 1950s. However, it has had no occupants since 2004 and has endured a turbulent few years in recent times.
It now sits derelict, next to an industrial estate and drab office buildings, but there is hope that it will be restored to its former glory in the coming years.
CEG Group currently own the site and Leeds City Council is exploring the potential for it to be used as the base for the British Library North.
Expectations aren't too high, after a similar restoration project from Burberry fell through, but Temple Works could become the crown in the jewel of the city's £350 million South Bank development if everything goes to plan.
