To reduce the floor area for rolling equipment and to separately control upper and lower work rolls by respectively connecting the upper work roll and lower work roll and an upper roll driving motor and lower roll driving motor which are fixed so as not to mutually interfere with an upper universal joint and lower universal joint.

A rolled stock 50 is made to bite into the roll gap while the upper work roll 51 and lower work roll 52 are respectively revolved with the upper motor 3 and lower motor 4 through the upper universal joint 1 and lower universal joint 2 and rolled into a prescribed thickness while executing reduction with upper and lower back-up rolls 53, 54. By omitting reduction gears, driving shafts and distributors, the floor area for the rolling equipment is remarkably reduced. The upper work roll 51 and lower work roll 52 are separately controllable and the number of equipment is reduced, so the clearance is reduced and the accuracy of the rolling mill is improved.