Alport – Corn Mill SK223646
Alport Corn Mill on the River Lathkill is of ancient origin and a mill is recorded here 1159-60. The Alport Mill is mentioned many times in the ‘Haddon Charters’; once as early as 1208, when a Henry de Hotot was ‘tenant of an oxgang of land and a quarter of the mill’. Owned by the Duke of Rutland and leased to S. and E. Johnson Ltd. for cattle, pig and poultry foods. Alport Mill was last worked properly in about 1925. A portion of the older building has been removed and some additions made. The breast-type waterwheel, approximately 4ft wide, with iron buckets, is still in position and inside the mill are five pairs of millstones.

Alstonefield – Lode Mill SK146551
Lode Mill on the River Dove is a former corn mill, also now forms part of a farm. The name Lode Mill is thought to be a possible corruption of ‘Lead Mill’ as the mill was multi purpose and used for lead smelting, grinding red and yellow ochre and also corn.

Ashford in the Water – Black Marble Mill SK190694
At Ashford-in-the-Water and in some other places the extraction and working of marble was an important local industry for a period of about 200 years. Not actually marble in the true geological sense, the substance is in fact an impure form of limestone, usually dark grey, but becoming black in colour and highly decorative when polished. Evidently known in prehistoric times – a dressed slab was found in a tumulus on the hill north of Ashford called Fin Cop – the marble was certainly being worked around 1690 when it was mentioned in some Chatsworth accounts. In 1748 Henry Watson established his marble mill at Ashford and the material was used for a wide variety of ornamental purposes including interior building work -particularly at Chatsworth-and in the making of such things as table tops, statues, vases and trinkets. The chief source of the marble was the Arrock Quarry (SK 191694), now overgrown, fenced off and dangerous, a short distance from the A6 on the minor road to Sheldon. Originally quarried, and later mined underground, the blocks were taken across the river to the mill where, by the use of water power, the marble was sawn to the required shapes, ground and polished. In 1832, some years after Watson’s death in 1786 which preceded several changes of hands, a mine was opened by a Mr Oldfield across the valley in the Rookery Plantation (SK 190695) and marble extracted here from deep inside the hillside also supplied to the mill. Towards the end of the century, however, interest declined and the industry suffered from the competition of other materials. Though turbines had been installed during the later years, marble working at the Ashford mill ceased in 1905. For a number of years afterwards the premises were used as a barytes mill by the Via Gellia Colour Company, and then for timber; part of the site was later absorbed in the construction of the A6 road. A dwindling amount of inlay work from reserves of the material still in hand continued in certain places for a number of years after closure of the mill. At Ashford-in-the-Water Rowland Holmes made combs from tortoiseshell in a small mill constructed as a secondary user of the marble mill leat. Some ruins of this building remain adjoining the site of the former marble works, slightly downstream.

Bakewell – Lumford Mill SK 212691
In 1777 Arkwright negotiated a 50 year lease with Philip Gell of Hopton for land beside the River Wye at Bakewell and built Lumford Spinning Mill (his third spinning mill). When the building was completed he gifted it to his son Richard.
Opposition to the mill came from the Dukes of Devonshire and Rutland, who owned the water rights up and downstream of the mill.
It was claimed that the mill affected fishing and water supply to the Duke of Rutland’s corn mill a short distance downstream.
The dispute was settled in 1786 when Arkwright agreed to pay the Duke of Rutland a nominal rent of £10 a year for a 42 year lease of the water.
The mill employed 300-400 workers, mostly women and children. In 1789 it was being run by his son, and in 1829 by Robert and Peter Arkwright who decided to sell it. It was bought by Horace Mason of Calver on a hire-purchase basis, but Mason became insolvent and in 1839 the Arkwrights had the mill on their hands again. A further unsuccessful attempt to sell in 1840 left the mill idle for a period, until being leased, with machinery and nearby housing, for cotton spinning in 1844.
In 1857 the mill was owned by the Rev Godfrey Arkwright who sold it to the Duke of Devonshire in 1860. It was rebuilt after a serious fire in 1868 and the premises continued to be operated as a cotton mill until the end of the century. At one stage it was run by Lomas & Tunstill with 150 workers, 6,000 mule spindles, 5,750 throstle spindles, 100 looms.
It was taken over by the DP Battery Company a battery manufacturing firm in 1898 and run for this purpose until closure by Electric Power Storage Ltd in 1970.
Until 1955 the mill was powered by two waterwheels fed from Ashford Dam.
The original mill building, at SK 212691, was long and narrow, the water passing beneath it to operate an undershot waterwheel on the east side. In 1827 this wheel was replaced by a new one of high breast type, larger and more efficient, 25ft in diameter and 18ft wide, with seventy buckets. This, and another smaller one of 21ft diameter and 7ft width, installed in 1852, survived the 1868 fire and were both in use at the factory until a breakdown in 1955, following which they were removed and replaced by a modern turbine. The oldest remaining part of the early mill, dating from at least as early as 1824 and probably from before 1799, is a building which stands adjacent to the river and the A6 road. Upstream are the water reserves, including ‘Ashford Lake’, the remains of three original mill pools constructed to serve the mill.

Bakewell – Victoria Mill SK212687
The Victoria Corn Mill beside the Buxton road (SK 216687) probably occupies the site of a mill recorded at Bakewell in the Domesday Book. The large gritstone building with its iron-framed windows, dating from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, formerly belonged to the Duke of Rutland; it was rented by Messrs Bailey from about 1890 and owned by them from around 1920. Powered by water from the River Wye, the mill was used for grinding corn for local farmers up to the end of World War II and afterwards as a store for feeding stuffs.

Bamford Mill SK205833
Cotton mills which evolved out of former village spinning workshops included those at Bamford and Edale, which, like that at Calver, were both developed on the sites of earlier corn mills. The one at Bamford (SK 205833) was operated from 1782 as a cotton mill by a local farmer and miller, Christopher Kirk. The original mill probably had four storeys but was destroyed by fire on 24 October 1791. It was rebuilt by H. C. Moore, the weir being constructed with rocks from Bamford Edge. It was probably at the time of subsequent rebuilding that power spinning was introduced. The mill was originally powered by the River Derwent but in the nineteenth century a beam engine was installed; it was replaced in 1907 by a horizontal steam engine made by John Musgrave and Sons Ltd of Bolton which continued in use until 1965. Water power was used for generating electricity by two reaction turbines generating 45hp and 22hp respectively-one of them transferred here from Edale Mill-and until 1951 the mill manufactured its own gas supply. In 1857 S. M. Moore and Son had a 60 hp steam engine and employed 230 hands. The mill was sold in 1885 to Hamilton Cash of Mansfield and in 1902 to Fine Spinners and Doublers Ltd. In July 1965 it was closed down by Courtaulds when employing 120 people. From 1902 the mill belonged to the firm of Fine Spinners and Doublers Ltd and was used for the doubling and reeling of cotton which was brought here from Manchester ready carded and spun; in 1963 the business was taken over by Courtaulds and closed down in October 1965. In 1966 the premises were bought by the Carbolite Company Ltd, and after conversion were used for the manufacture of electric furnaces and laboratory and research equipment.

Brough – Corn Mill SK183826
The mill is not included in the Domesday Book in 1086 but in 1199, Phillip de Strelley, of nearby Hazelbadge Hall, was assessed (for tax) on a mill valued at £4-0-0 per annum. King John later gave the mill to Phillip, requiring that he provide a valet whenever the king came to the area to hunt. In 1421 the mill and various estates were granted to Richard Vernon of Haddon. By 1625 Brough Mill was owned by Rowland Moorwood of Castleton but was sold by him to the Eyres of Hassop Estates for £20-0-0 on the 3rd of May, 1625 and remained in their possession for 286 years. The mill is shown on Burdett’s map, and on most maps up to the present day.The three storeyed stone corn mill, with stone flagged roof, was also used as a saw mill, powered by one of the wheels. Millers included Ben Kirk in 1835, Sarah Kirk in 1842, with G. Mortimor in 1855. They were followed by Thomas Carter from 1876/81 but in 1885 the tenancy of the mill was taken over by William Eyre and in 1911 Hassop Estates decided to sell the mill at public auction when William purchased it for £1000.In 1900, William’s son Marmaduke joined the company and became a partner in Wm. Eyre and Sons. He was later joined by his brother William, who also became a partner in the business, and the mill continued lo thrive. However disaster struck when, in mid-winter 1924, a fire broke out in the mill, possibly starting from the kiln which was fuelled by gas, when some lead pipes melted. The building interior was virtually gutted, although both wheels were saved. Electricity was generated until around 1950 when abstraction schemes to augment the Labybower Reservoir reduced the flow of water. The building of Ladybower Reservoir in the late 1940s seriously limited water flow to the mill and the Eyres were awarded a total of £8000 compensation. In 1955 the east wheel, its associated millstones and the electric dynamo were demolished and the watercourse to the wheel was blocked up. Electric motors were added to supplement the water power by driving the provender equipment. In 1960 the ‘Limestone Pumping Scheme’ was introduced and took away more water from the mill. Additional compensation of £6000 was awarded, plus £750 to enable more electric motors to be purchased for mill. There were formerly three cotton mills at Brough. One was the later Brough White Lead Works (SK 182825). Another was near Brough House which now comprises cottages (SK 180824). The third was Stretfield or Brough New Mill (SK 178820); this was owned by Thomas Somerset until the business failed towards the end of the nineteenth century, reputedly because of the high cost of new machinery. The premises were subsequently in the hands of various owners and used for wire manufacture, for the making of combs from ox horn, as a cement workers’ hostel, and for other purposes. The mill continued to operate profitably through the 1950s but, in October 1967, following death duties imposed after Marmaduke died, and the changing market, William Eyre Junior reluctantly decided to bring the milling business to a close, part of the mill was changed to a shop in 1967 and later into agricultural merchants.

Brough – New Mill SK178820 Stretfield or Brough New Mill was owned by Thomas Somerset until the business failed towards the end of the nineteenth century, reputedly because of the high cost of new machinery. The premises were subsequently in the hands of various owners and used for wire manufacture, for the making of combs from ox horn, as a cement workers’ hostel, and for other purposes. The making of combs was also done in small water mills at the end of the nineteenth century. Meadows and Company occupied a former cotton mill at Stretfield, Brough, for this purpose for a few years, using cow-horn as their material.

Buxworth – Britannia Mill SK017823 – a much earlier cotton-spinning mill became Britannia Wire Works Ltd and . Four storey, multi-ridged, gritstone mill by F.S.Gawthern, rebuilt in 1851, originally an early 19th century cotton mill serviced via the adjacent Peak Forest Canal. It had no connecting road towards Stockport and a private toll road, known as New Road, was built and opened in 1864 which today leads past the blue arches to Bridgemont on the A6. Tolls ceased in 1919. In 1903, the Britannia Wire Works Company took over the premises and later Meredith Spring Seat Co Ltd was founded and the site became well known for the manufacture of all types of seats. It ceased operating in 1969.

Calver Mill (SK 247745), formerly a cotton mill built on the site of a previous corn mill was used for filming Colditz and is now apartments. A smelting mill may have occupied the site in earlier days. It was built by the Gardoms, a family of hosiers, in 1785-6, at the time of expiration of Arkwright’s patents, the land being leased from Thomas Eyre of Hassop. The turn of the century was a time of misfortunes for the owners, then trading as Gardom, Pares and Company, for in 1799 a serious flood washed away Calver Bridge and caused havoc at the mill and in 1802 the mill was burnt down. In 1805 it was rebuilt, but because of family deaths and financial difficulties the Gardoms withdrew from the partnership and the management was taken over by a former employee, Horatio Mason, a benevolent and hard-working man who lived with his family at the mill house. About 200 people were employed at the mill in the 1830s, many coming from the neighbouring villages, others living near the mill. Mason was concerned for their welfare; educational facilities were provided for the children and a Sunday school established and conditions were generally less harsh than in many other factories of the time. Sadly, however, due to financial mismanagement, in 1839 Mason found himself bankrupt and running of the mill was taken over by Sir William Heygate, a member of the Calver Mill Company, followed in later years by a succession of others. Much of the yarn produced at Calver was sent to Leicester for use in the hosiery trade, and cotton spinning continued until the early 1920s when the mill closed down. During World War II the empty building was put into use as a storage depot while the yard became the scene of a crushing and washing plant for fluorspar. After the war the premises were bought by Mr H. G. Sissons, a director of Calver Mill Estate Ltd, and adapted for the manufacture of stainless steel sinks. The site has now been converted into apartments.

Castleton Corn Mill The former Castleton Corn Mill on the south side of Mill Lane at SK 151831 was used for grinding until the 1930s. Subsequently the 400-year-old limestone building was used as an antique store and then by the High Peak Mining and Engineering Company. In 1962 the premises were adapted and used by Cambrian Electronics Products Ltd but with preservation of certain mill features including the wheelpit. The former oak waterwheel of 10-12ft diameter was broken up in the 1950s.

Chapel en le Frith Paper Mills SK045822 – there was a group of six mills that was built here from the late 18th century. They are now overshadowed by the modern buildings of Glossop Super Alloys. The mill ponds were higher up the valley filled with water from the Shelf Brook. There was a report by Glover that John Ibbotson produced at Whitehough Paper Mills one single sheet of paper 1,000 ft long and 7 ft wide, c 1827.

Charlesworth Holehouse Mill SJ999922 -Renovated three storey gritstone 19th century former cotton mill, with square chimney and modern additions, in the same valley as Kinderlee Mill. The entrance road follows the stream from which a narrow leat takes water to a mill pond in front of the car park and a stone bywash takes surplus water back into the stream. In 2003 the mill produced “colours for industry”. In 1835 the mill was of either John Bowden or Joseph Cooper. In 1870 and 1891 it was in the possession of James Rowbottom, cotton spinner, doubler and cotton band manufacturer.

Charlesworth Kinderlee Mill SJ995923 – Four storey gritstone early 19th century cotton mill with blue slate roofs and round brick chimney, which straddled and completely filled a narrow deep valley formed by a tributary of the Etherow which comes down from Cown Edge. In June 2003, it was standing derelict and windowless but was in the possession of a property company with plans to convert it into about 50 units for housing. There was a mill pond.

Chatsworth Corn Mill – built in the mid-eighteenth century, the corn mill building is now a shell standing beside the River Derwent at SK 259688.

From the weir across the river the head race, formerly controlled by a sluice, ran underground for a stretch and then in the open; the tail race discharged back into the river through a stone-walled arched culvert.

The mill was last worked by Mr Wilfrid Johnson (previously by a George Hodkin) for grinding corn up to 1950 by Wilfred Johnson.
Damage was caused in about 1962 when trees were blown on to the mill during a gale.
An earlier mill, further upstream was destroyed in 1760, as part of improvements to the park by the architect, James Paine.
The mill took several years to complete as a weir and leats had to be constructed. In the 1840’s Joseph Paxton, the sixth Duke’s agent sought William Strutt’s advice and the weir survives today.

Cromford corn mill? SK293569. On the A5012 just above the lowest dam on Bonsall Brook, it was to drive a generator for a motorcycle business. The wheel is of 14 ft 7 in diameter, overshot, 30 rpm, with water conveyed through two iron pipes.

Cromford mill SK298569. Richard Arkwright bought the corn mill in 1771, with a lease of the land that Cromford Sough and Bonsall Brook ran through. In 1772 he erected his cotton mill, partly on the site of the corn mill, and worked it by a wheel turned by the water of the brook and the sough which was brought across the road in a wooden launder. This wooden launder was replaced in 1821 by a cast-iron one and later destroyed by a lorry. Water emerges from the mill by a culvert under the roadway, into an open channel and then to the canal. The original mill was six storeys high, but it has lost its two upper storeys, probably in the fire of 1890. A second mill was built in 1777, adjacent to the first one, later almost completely destroyed by fire. In 1789 Arkwright employed 800 people, but this establishment ceased work as a cotton mill in 1846.

Cromford Masson Mill SK294573 – Erected by Arkwright, 1783. The original six-storey brick building is at the north end of the present complex. There are impressive water works and an unusual down-curved weir at the rear of the buildings, seen only, by permission, from the left bank of the river.
In 1768, George White, who also held Lumb smelting mills, obtained a lease to build mills and erect wheels at the Masson, (SK294573), for ninety-nine years at �1 pa. In 1772 a grant was made to George White and Robert Shore to convey water to a paper mill for twenty-one years. This is the south weir at Matlock Bath, and was adjacent to Arkwright’s Masson Mill. In 1788 Shore, White and Swetnham were working the prosperous Llwyn Llwyd lead mine in Cardiganshire.
In 1846, 320 were employed.
The mill was sold to the English Sewing Cotton Co in 1897.
The waterwheels were removed c1927.

Curbar Corn Mill
Ruins beside the Barbrook (SK 275739) are of an old corn mill, disused for many years; it is believed that there was previously a lead smelting mill on the site. The former mill pond is still marked by a rushy area which often holds water. A stone bridge gives access across the stream from the direction of the A621 road. A drawing of 1869 shows a three storeyed building, complete with undershot wheel and the cowls of a kiln. The miller in 1895 was listes as Thomas Marples.

Dale Abbey Windmill SK438398 – The Cat and Fiddle post mill, of 1788 or earlier, had a stone round-house added in 1844. It was the last surviving working mill in Derbyshire and was preserved by Stanton Ironworks Ltd.

Diggle Mill SE017080 – Famed for the size of its waterwheel, Diggle Mill (SE 017080) was one of a number of woollen mills in Saddleworth. Diggle Mill was formerly a woollen mill with a very large waterwheel demolished in about 1920. Part of the original building was premises for a plastics factory. Reported in 2015 to now be housing.

Edale Cotton Mill
Edale Mill (SK 134854), powered by the River Noe, as well as having been a corn mill had also served as a tannery before being used for cotton. In 1795 Nicholas Cresswell enlarged the premises and took into partnership three Manchester cotton industrialists, James Harrison, Robert Blackwell and Joseph Fletcher, the main, larger mill building with its three storeys and external enclosed staircase probably being added at that time or early in the nineteenth century. Owned during the nineteenth century by Hector Christie, the mill in its later working days, like the one at Bamford, came under the firm of Fine Spinners and Doublers Ltd. Cotton manufacturing ceased here in 1934. Just west of the mill is the former manager’s house, now a private residence, and alongside the road are workers’ cottages. Many of the women who worked here, however, lived farther away; a number of them came from Castleton, walking to the mill each day. They walked 2 miles via Hollins Cross, a climb of 650 ft, to a height of 1,250 ft. In times of bad weather they would bring sufficient food for a few days and sleep at the mill.

Froggatt Slag Mill
Ruins at SK 247771 in Hay Wood are probably remains of an eighteenth-century slag mill. These consist of partial walls of a small building measuring 10ft 6in x 6ft 4m internally with walls 1 ft 9m thick. There is a 1 ft 6in wide opening in the front wall and in the one opposite a recess 2ft 6in wide, 5ft 4m high with a sloping back, evidently where the waterwheel was accommodated. At the higher level, water from a stream is diverted through open-ended stone troughs forming a launder, to fall into the ruined chamber. The gritstone sections of the launder are from 2ft 9m to 3ft 11in in length and have a square channel roughly 9m wide and 9in deep, with an overall width of 1ft 8in. Smelting is believed to have been done here.

Glossop Cotton Mills SK029942
The complex of Wrens Nest was begun 1815 by Mathew Ellison, agent to Lord Howard. In 1827 his relative Francis Sumner joined him and began the great expansion of the works. The early dam and old buildings stood at the western end of very large spinning mills and weaving sheds of later dates. It was a Catholic firm and brought many girls from Ireland to work in the mills. In 1830 John Wood moved from the Water Mill into Howard Town (ie the Glossop of today), initiating the other major establishment which later specialised in Two Cities fabrics.Later still Wood Brothers Ltd was spinning cotton and rayon. Many new industries were introduced, eg crepe rubber, plastic products and animal foods, which occupied parts of the large factories. In 1948 Sumnadale fabrics were being produced. Glossop had only one textile mill in 1774: by 1809 there were 54, half of Derbyshire’s total at the time, strung along the six brooks that focus on the town.

Glossop Gnathole Mill
At the beginning of the nineteenth century a small number of woollen mills came into existence in the district now covered by the national park. One of these was Gnathole Mill, Charlesworth (SK 039924), built in 1790 by John Robinson on the site of an earlier corn mill and because of its peaty water said to have been renowned for the quality of broad cloths and narrow cloths it produced. Woollen manufacturing was carried on here it seems until about 1880, since when an older building has been adapted for agricultural purposes and the later main mill and offices converted to four flats and a farmhouse. In the centre of this structure is the site of the waterwheel, the power of which was later used for cutting firewood and, more unusually, for churning butter. The water came from Bray and Whitethorn Cloughs and was stored in ‘lodges’-a term for millponds used in this area.

Glossop Howardtown Mills SK 035939-039939
These mills consisted principally of two large separate five storey gritstone buildings, mainly spinning blocks, but there were also some low weaving sheds along the north side of Giossop Brook and a round brick chimney at the eastern end. The first mill on the site was a fulling mill of 1783 and this was changed to a spinning mill by 1811. John Wood purchased the mill in 1819 and developed a vast vertically integrated cotton firm on the site which finally shut down in the 1960s. There are entrance pillars and a gatehouse (Listed Grade II) at the Victoria Street entrance. The former owner’s residence was ‘Howardtown House’ on the south side of High Street East.

Great Shacklow wood – On the south bank of the River Wye at (SK182696) where the footpath crosses the river, there are two buildings which were formerly a bone mill but more recently used for timber.

By the side of one building are two external iron waterwheels, the mill leat comes from a nearby weir close by up stream.
Bones from as far away as London were brought to the mill for crushing to produce fertiliser.
Also close to the river and adjacent to the mill buildings, is a pumping house and a small waterwheel used in the past for raising water to Sheldon village, about a half mile south of and 500 feet above the River Wye.

Goytsclough Mil – At SK 012733, near the quarry, is the site of the former Goytsclough Mill, built as a stone finishing mill and later used as a paint mill. Water was taken by leat from the Goyt and also from a stream in Deep Clough and held in a dam for powering the waterwheel. There were formerly also cottages here for employees. Now both mill and cottages have been demolished.

Hartshorne Screw Mill SK325214 – In 1760 Job and William Wyatt of Tatenhill in Staffordshire, took out a patent for a method of cutting wood-screws on a lathe. Their business was taken over soon after 1776 by Shorthouse Wood and Co, who set up a factory at Hartshorne. Known as the Screw Factory, it was operated by a wheel on Repton Brook, and it must have been one of the first establishments to be concerned with the continuous mass-production of small components. By 1796 it was employing fifty-nine workers, and reported to be turning out 1,200 gross of screws per week on thirty-six lathes worked by the one waterwheel. Stebbing Shaw, the onetime rector of Hartshorne, described the lathes as producing eight or nine screws per minute, the operations requiring the stopping and starting of each lathe eighteen times per minute. Children were employed, and they could earn from is 6d to 1s9s per week. It is difficult, however, to reconcile the rate of production with the total output, which would be expected to be about three times as great as quoted. In 1846 the works was shut down, apparently because it could not compete with the Birmingham firm of Nettlefold and Chamberlain, which had adopted new American machinery.

Hathersage – Dale Mill SK235817 – Believed to have originally been used for wire-drawing though it has served various subsequent purposes including button-making, engineering, shoe-making and timber. The main building is three-storeyed, with a square chimney stack, and on the opposite side of the road are cottages which were formerly connected with the mill.

Hathersage Haselford Mill Lead mill (SK 233807), beside the River Derwent, is now a private residence. It may at some time have had a purpose connected with lead, but is known to have formerly been a corn mill, and latterly a stonemason’s yard using water power for sawing and dressing stone. An advertisement in the Derby Mercury in 1782 offered a mill, called Hasleford Mill for sale, occupied by Mrs Hinch. This was called ‘Haxelford Mill’ on Greenwood’s map of 1825 and is currently known as ‘Lead Mill House’.

Hayfield Bank Vale Paper Mill SK031875 – Bank Vale Paper Mills of John Slack Ltd , established in the early 1800s. The mill is the southernmost of three former mills on a tributary of the River Sett. The site has been involved in paper manufacture since it was built in the early 1830s. Higher upstream was a stone-faced reservoir and a stream with a series of weirs controlling the flow into a headrace. Adjacent was the former mill owner’s house, Oaklands.

Hayfield Walk Mill SK037870 – To the west of the bridge in the centre of the village was the site of a water-powered fulling mill on Phoside stream which runs under the house: the remains of the building are now incorporated in a private house, ‘Grotto House’. Such a mill was known as a walk mill when the cloth was ‘walked’ under bare feet in a trough of water in a liquor containing fuller’s earth.

Higham Corn Mill SK386584
At Dairy Farm, a three-storey sandstone building, with cast-iron windows. A water mill is mentioned by Farey, and Sanderson’s map, 1834, shows it as a bump (candlewick) mill. Occupied by Fred Turner (Hosiery) Ltd. At other times it has been a corn mill, a mustard factory and a jam factory. It had a 16ft waterwheel.

Holmbridge Rake Mill SE105055 – At Holme the Bilberry fulling mill and two other woollen manufactories stood in the area now covered by the Digley Reservoir. There was also a small woollen mill called Rake Mill which was used for spinning yarn for the local weavers.

Hope Corn Mill SK173838
The former Hope Corn Mill (SK 174838) on the River Noe was in 1969 converted to a dwelling house after being disused for a number of years. The date 1866 on the main building probably indicates its renovation, or addition to an older building adjoining, undoubtedly the earlier mill. The letters JRC are believed to have been the initials of a John Robert Cocker of Hathersage. Threshing was done at the mill and the corn dried by coke fires before being ground. The building was also used as a sawmill, with a subsidiary wheel at the front taking power from the main waterwheel. The waterwheel, of about 11ft diameter and 3ft width, has been dismantled and removed. While the wheelpit no longer exists and the leats and pond have been rendered at least temporarily dry, various mill features have been preserved and blended into the reconstruction.
This mill, converted to a house, can be approached along a public footpath from a track which leaves the Edale road at SK 172839. On the left of the footpath is a man-made watercourse taken from a tributary of the Noe leading to a mill pond now in the garden of the house. An old water wheel – relocated from the east end of the mill – stands in a pit’ by the side of the river.

Ironville Forge and Rolling Mills SK443513
Established by the Butterley Company in 1807, the Codnor Park works was producing wrought iron by the Cort process until July 1965, being demolished in 1966. The puddling process was filmed in 1964. A long masonry bank formerly surmounted by three 40 ft-high blast furnaces still stands. These were using hot blast in 1835, within two years of the Neilson patent. for the Cort process see –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puddling_furnace#Puddling_furnace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cort 

Kettleshulme Lamb Hole or Lumb Mill (SJ 988804) was the site of a former cotton mill destroyed by fire in the 1820s. The shell of the burnt-out building was bought by a Mr Sheldon who reconstructed the present gritstone building in 1835 and adapted it for making candlewick for miners’ lamps. The manufacture continued, providing the main source of local livelihood, until World War I when demand for candlewick declined. The premises were subsequently used for a time for making linen sheets. Originally lit by oil, the mill manufactured its own gas supply for lighting purposes until changing to water-generated electricity.

Little Hayfield Clough Mill SK032882 Originally a cotton mill dating in part from the 1830s and later, when steam power was introduced. Substantial rebuilding took place in the 1870s, however, following a fire. Clough Mill was a cotton-spinning mill, one of many which grew up at the time in this district and in the Glossop locality. The mill saw stormy patches, with riots in 1830 and distress at the time of the ‘cotton panic’ in the 1860s caused by the blockade of American southern ports. The manufacture of cotton ceased in 1920 and since then the buildings have been used for different purposes.

Litton Mill SK161729 Litton Mill was opened for cotton spinning in 1782 by Ellis Needham, a notoriously mean character. Mainly due to labour problems, pauper apprentices were brought from London and other cities to work long hours in the mill and to endure the poor food and harsh and rigorous treatment for which Litton Mill was noted. In 1815 Needham was bankrupt. The mill was subsequently run by others, one being Henry Newton (son of William) and was described in 1857 as an ‘extensive spinning and manufacturing establishment’ with 400 people employed and using water and steam power. There was a fire at the mill in the 1874 and most of the present buildings are of more recent date, although a building at the bottom of the yard is believed to have been part of an old warehouse, and another, which stands on stone pillars at the higher end, was probably a coach house. In 1934 Litton Mill was bought by the Anglo-French Silk Mills Ltd, and subsequently run as Litton Mills Silk Mills Ltd; artificial silk was produced, and later man-made fibres. A further change of ownership occurred in 1963 when textured yarns were manufactured.

Longnor Mill SK085646 – Situated by the River Manifold in the parish of Heathylee (SK 085646), the mill seems to have had a varied history. It is believed originally to have been a corn mill, later used for grinding bones, and in the 1930s was the scene of a fire. Wooden hay racks were made in more recent years and the premises was also used as a saw mill by the Harpur Crewe estate. Its overshot waterwheel, of approximately 14ft 6in diameter, 5ft 6in wide, had wooden spokes and iron buckets.

Mellor Cotton Mill SJ967885 – In 1792 Samuel Oldknow designed and built a large cotton-spinning mill on the Goyt, helped financially by Richard Arkwright. It was burnt down in the 1890s, but a contemporary painting shows a resemblance to the frontage of Willersley Castle; 120 hp water power, of which the tunnel leats can be traced in the ruins. In 1857 it had combined steam and water power of 300 hp. The dams are now the Roman Lakes. After considering the use of iron, Oldknow built the elegant single-arched bridge over the Goyt in stone. On Oldknow’s death the mill was taken over by Arkwright II. It remained in use until the fire. Bottom’s Hall, now a farm, was reputedly the Apprentices’ House.

The MAT Mellor Archaeological Trust are currently working on the site. MAT link

Matlock Green Corn Mill SK309599 – a large tall corn mill, formerly Gartons and E H Bailey Ltd., of 1799 date (Pevsner). Probably dating back to the late 18th century, it was built for Samuel Unwin. A steam engine was added in the late 19th century and roller miiling was introduced at about the same time.

Millford Mills SK351452 – On either side of the stone bridge over the Derwent in 1790 were the extensive cotton-spinning, bleaching and dyeing mills built by Jedediah Strutt from 1780 onwards. The old mills south of the bridge were demolished in 1964. Fortunately they were fully documented by Johnson and Skempton. Stone from Hopping Hill Quarry, (SK352453), was used for the mills. It was exceptionally difficult to work but was beautifully dressed, and the buildings were difficult to demolish. Examples of William Strutt’s fireproof design, with cast-iron stanchions and beams, hollow earthenware pots and plaster flooring, have been preserved locally and in the Science Museum. The mills were light, airy and warm.

New Mills Hyde Bank (Beard) Mill SK001856
Four storey gritstone former cotton mill on Hyde Bank Road standing astride the R.Sett: rebuilt after a fire in the early 19th century on the site of an early woollen mill. There are two arches under the mill, visible from the road, one spanning the river and the other the former head race. Now in multiple occupation.

Over Haddon – Carter’s Corn Mill SK184657
Now demolished, Carter’s Corn Mill was a corn mill dating from the early nineteenth century. Although long in disuse the building still stood up to World War II when the waterwheel was removed for scrap. Subsequently the walls disintegrated and most of the stones were removed.

Rainow Cotton Mill
At Mill Brook (SJ 949757) there was a cotton mill, said to have been burnt down three times, the last time in about 1868. The proprietor was a Stephen Sheldon whose son brought the raw cotton from Manchester by waggons and teams of horses. After the last fire a portion of the buildings was rebuilt and used by another firm as a fustian-cutting room. There was formerly a very high chimney. There are no remains of the mill. A water pumping station now occupies the site; when foundations for this were being dug a pipe, believed to have been for gas, was discovered from which it is conjectured that the mill had gas lighting.

Rainow Gin Clough Mill – Run in the nineteenth century by James Sharpley, a silk throwster, whose supplies of silk were brought from Macclesfield by pannier donkeys. Production ceased apparently in the 1860s after which the premises were adapted for use as a wheelwright’s shop.

Rowarth Little Mill
There were five cotton mills in the valley at Rowarth in the early nineteenth century; in 1857 there were two cotton mills and one paper mill but by the end of the century there were none.
SK011889 is the site of cotton mill which was possibly the earliest in the New Mills area. It was a separate two-storey building from the inn, in between the brook and the inn. In a disastrous flood of June 1930 resulting from a tremendous thunderstorm, the mill and the remains of the water wheel were completely destroyed.

Rowsley Caudwell’s Corn Mill
The Rowsley Corn Mill (SK 255657) is owned by the Haddon Estate and has been run by Messrs Caudwell Ltd as a flour mill since the present building was constructed in 1870 or 1871. It is believed there was previously a sawmill on the site, but many records were unfortunately burnt in the inter-war years. Buildings on the south side are apparently older than the main one. There is no memory of the waterwheel but its position and marks left by its use are still visible; evidently undershot, it must have been of 12-14ft diameter and of about the same width. The waterwheel has long been replaced by turbines, the present two, of 80 and 50hp respectively, both about 50 years old, are still powered by the River Wye. Milling is now performed by rollers in place of the original stones; flour is milled and maize and barley are ground, and animal feeding stuffs are made up to supply various products for which the firm is agent.

Sheen Brund Mill SK099613 – There was formerly a corn mill on the site but from the end of the eighteenth century the premises comprised a cotton factory, believed to have been leased by a Thomas Cantrell and used by him and his three sons for cotton spinning and calico making. Since that time the building has reputedly been used as a sawmill, and during wartime for grinding corn.

Spancarr tower mill – Spancarr tower mill at SK341660 by the A632 Matlock road with its conical six sided roof underwent conversion to a house around 1996. The kiln remains were incorporated intro the building.

Stoney Middleton Carters Corn Mill
The former Carters Corn Mill (SK 230755), with water still rushing down at its side although the waterwheel was removed by early this century. It had for many years been a footwear factory and was believed to have been connected with the Grindleford tannery, the shoes produced being taken to Chesterfield to be sold. There were four or five boot-making concerns in Stoney Middleton, all now having ceased to function. A building on the south side of the main road in the village (SK 229755) was used as a shoe factory until the 1960s.

Thorpe Corn Mill SK146505
Thorpe Corn Mill on the River Dove (SK 146505) has been completely demolished. The mill was last worked in about 1893. The village water mill, which was situated on the River Dove, has completely disappeared although traces of the waterways can be found. However, the name is maintained in Thorpe Mill Farm close to St. Mary’s Bridge in Ilam. J. Hodkinson was the miller 1857 -1881, followed by Richard Radcliffe, who was last recorded in 1904.

Tissington Woodeaves Mill SK184504 – cotton mill established at the end of the eighteenth century. It was built by a hosier, John Cooper of Hanging Bridge Mill for lace-thread spinning in 1784. It was powered in its early days by water from the Bradbourne Brook, brought along a � mile-long mill leat, termed a ‘canal’, for it was also used for conveying limestone to the mill in small boats. Later, power was provided in 1857 by a 16hp steam engine. Cotton manufacture, which involved cotton doubling for the lace and curtain trades of Nottingham and elsewhere, continued through the nineteenth century. A hundred people were employed, some of whom lived in cottages in the mill yard and others at nearby Fenny Bentley. In 1908 production ceased and within a few years the greater part of the buildings were demolished. Left standing were the warehouse and engine house which continued in use for various purposes, including that of a cheese factory. Stilton cheese were made for a period between 1910 and 1930 by William Nuttall, brother of John Nuttall of Hartington.

Two Dales Mill Flax-spinning mill – In 1785 Abraham Flint, a local farmer, started to build a small two storey cotton-spinning mill of 400 spindles at the bottom of Ladygrove on Sydnope Brook. He was unable to complete this due to a lack of funds but Daniel Dakeyne (b1733) a local landowner acquired the nearly completed mill and despite having no previous experience he formed Daniel Dakeyne & Co, Cotton Spinners with three of his oldest sons as partners. By 1788 Daniel decided to diversify into a flax spinning mill.
The mill was powered by Sydnope Brook with what was thought to be two 30ft diameter undershot wheels.
Daniel’s three younger sons, Peter, Edward, and James were employed in the business and in 1794 Edward, and James patented the “Equilinium”, a machine to straighten flax fibres.
By 1800 the investments made by the company and its partners were becoming overwhelming and in October 1801 bankruptcy was declared leaving the partners and their families destitute.
In 1802 the mills, dams and associated houses were presented at auction. The first auction was unsuccessful and a second auction in 1804 also resulted in no sale.
Some years later James is recorded as running the mill. Records for the interim period do not exist so it is surmised that James made a deal with the mortgage holders who accepted this as a means of at least recovering some monies.
By 1826 Edward and James were in partnership and with their business prospering they built a three storey flax mill on the site.
The new mill required much more power to drive it so a unique arrangement of three water wheels were housed in a central tower.
Three wheels needed much more water to power them causing production problems as it was a case of either running the flax mill at full output whilst not using the cotton mill, or running the cotton mill with the flax mill working at reduced power.In the 1820s the mill owners Edward & James Dakeyne designed and constructed a disc engine known locally as “The Romping Lion” to make use of the high-pressure water available near their mill.They had previously invented “The Equalinium”, a machine for the preparation of flax for spinning, and their father Daniel Dakeyne (1733-1819) was granted a patent for this device in 1794. It is often said that Edward and James did not take out the patent themselves because they were minors at the time, but in fact they were 23 and 21 respectively.
The 1830 patent shows an unclear description of the engine in fact to quote Frank Nixon in his book “The Industrial Archaeology of Derbyshire” (1969) –

The main castings were made at the Morley Park foundry near Heage, and it weighed 7 tons generating 35 horsepower from a 96 ft head of water provided by Sydnope Brook feeding Fairy Dam and Potter Dam.
Subsequently a larger model was constructed to drain lead mines at Alport near Youlgreave and many steam versions were subsequently built by other people.

Upper Hulme Mill SK012609 – Flax growing and processing received encouragement during the reign of George III through imposition of duties on foreign linen and the provision of bounties to boost the growth of hemp and flax in this country, and also from the patenting by the flax spinners Edward and James Dakeyne of their water pressure ‘disc’ engine in 1830. At this time two mills in the district manufactured flax: the Upper Hulme Mill in Leekfrith parish and the one at Gradbach (Quarnford), mentioned in 1834 as being occupied by the flax spinner Daniel de Coin. Both mills were later used for silk. This was a silk mill when bought in 1869 by William Tatton of Leek who adapted the premises for silk dyeing, for which the water supply was considered particularly suitable. There was a serious fire here in 1891.

Wetton Mill SK096561 – Wetton Mill, formerly also called Ecton Mill, ceased as a corn mill by the end of the nineteenth century. Some of the old buildings in the village were reputedly used in the past for linen and cotton manufacture, and there is said to have been a button factory in the top floor of the Manor House.

Wincle – Whitelee Mill
Wincle Grange was founded around 1400 by the monks of Combermere near Nantwich on the Cheshire bank of the River Dane. An agreement was made between the monks of Dieu la Cresse and the monks of Crokenden that the mill near Gighall, turned by the waters of the river Dane, should be exempt from tithes. A gig mill is another name for a walk or fulling mill thus Gig Hall at SJ956641could indicate that the nearby mill was a fulling mill. Nothing further is known about the fulling mill until the early part of the 18th century when a millwright called Abraham Bennett who lived in Gurnett near Macclesfield was commissioned to build a paper mill. At the time James Brindley, who was to become a well known canal engineer, was an apprentice of Bennett and his involvement in the building of the paper mill has become a well known story. It seems that Bennett had travelled to see an ‘engine paper mill’ and was now attempting to copy it, thereby making his mill the first of its kind in the area. However, a traveling millwright informed the local neighbourhood that Bennett was throwing his employers’ money away, and could not complete what he had undertaken. On hearing this young James Brindley resolved to view the mill that was being copied. So after working all day one Saturday, he set out that evening to walk the fifty miles to view the mill and returned in time to start his work Monday morning. He then informed Bennett where “he was deficient“ and completed the engine to the satisfaction of the proprietors as well as making “considerable improvements in the press-paper“. From the description it would seem that they were building a paper mill that was probably based on the use of a machine called a Hollander to prepare rags instead of the previously used stamps. The Hollander was being introduced into the British paper making industry at this time and was somewhat like a bathtub that had a drum with ridges or spikes inside. Rags and water were placed in the Hollander and it was rotated with the power of a waterwheel pulverising the rags into pulp. Whitelee Mill certainly operated throughout the rest of the 18th century as various paper makers appear in local parish registers from time to time In the early 19th century the Trent and Mersey Canal Company were proposing to build a water supply feeder from the river Dane to their reservoir known as Rudyard Lake. It was originally intended that the water should be diverted upstream from Whitelee Mill on the northern bank of the river. The leat would run past the mill, cross the river by means of an aqueduct before heading along the southern side of the valley to Rudyard. However, there must have been a conflict with the owners of the mill because the leat was started from a new weir downstream from the mill. This was not successful as it was virtually level. Following a scathing report by John Rennie on the work an Act of Parliament in 1821 granted the necessary authority for remedial work. In 1824 the leat was extended upstream to the paper mill weir where it was allowed to collect any flood water over six inches above the normal weir height. By 1834 the mill was becoming obsolescent due new technology, so the owners entered into an agreement with the Trent and Mersey Canal Company to transfer the water rights to the canal company with the understanding that the mill would be pulled down after the implementation of the agreement. However, when the first edition of the Ordnance Survey was issued in 1842 it was still described as an “old mill“. Also, in 1860, it was stated that “The ruins of Whitelee paper mills are situated about one mile south west from the Ship Inn“

. So although the mill ceased to operate after 1834 it was not demolished as planned, but simply allowed to fall down. Today there is no evidence of the Whitelee Paper Mill to be seen except the weir across the Dane and a channel where the headrace and wheelpit must have been. The original Dane Feeder weir is still in existence just downstream of the paper mill weir with the extension leat running in the river bed between the two weirs. Unfortunately, the central part of the paper mill weir was washed away during heavy floods in 1998 after more than 260 years service.

Wirksworth Haarlem Mill SK284526 – established by Hackett, was made famous by the story of Adam Bede, whose cottage is by the garage opposite. It comprises two buildings, one of brick – possibly a silk mill before 1844. G. H. Wheatcroft and Co produce narrow fabrics. Steam replaced water power in 1900.

Wirksworth Speedwell Mill SK283539 – established by Richard Arkwright in 1780. It appears to have been built in three stages, but to house the 200 employees reported by Pilkington in 1789 it probably reached its present size quite early. It was also a textile-machinery factory. An ancestor of one manager worked it as a tape mill in 1852.

Wormhill Corn Mill SK137732 – This is an ancient corn-milling site from the 12th century. King John gave a mill at Wormhill to Daniel Pincerna. The present mill building dates from 1860; it was owned by Ben and William Dakin. The waterwheel was removed some years ago.