In his 2013 Lancashire Cotton Mills series, Brian Clarke depicted the silhouettes of cotton mills as he explored the landscape of his childhood in Oldham, a place that provided enduring inspiration for his work. In 2013, Clarke told The Manchester Evening News:

"My love of architecture began with my love of cotton mills. I am built of red bricks and covered in black smog. The cotton mill has been engraved on my psyche since I was born. I watched the mills come to their humiliating end in the 1960s, and I’ve always waited for them to make an appearance in my work legitimately."

In 2020, Clarke adapted one of the Lancashire Cotton Mills into the design for the crest of a new Blue Coat School in Oldham, renamed the Brian Clarke Church of England Academy in 2021.