Monument record MDR11637 - Lead slag mill (site of), Longside Moor, Holymoorside and Walton

Harewood Cupola was built by Barkers in 1752, coming into operation at the end of the year. It continued in their occupation until October 1814. The cupola [HER 14614] and slag mill buildings are shown on the Barlow Enclosure Map of 1820. A number of accounts for this cupola survive in the Bagshawe Collection at Sheffield Archives. The site today is defined by large areas of bare ground, presumably poisoned by lead fumes. There are many pieces of slag and firebrick. The slag mill foundations remain and slag is found on the opposite bank of the stream. The wooded area is known as Slag Mill Plantation. (1) A slag mill straddling the stream is shown on the Barlow Enclosure Award plan of 1820 and on an estate plan for 1824. Sanderson's plan of 1835 appears to show it closer to the road and it is not clear whether it moved or whether Sanderson's map is incorrect. Documentary research indicates that a slag mill existed for the Harewood Cupola [SMR 14614] but also that it may have existed at a slightly earlier date as a red lead mill, as lead was being sold to a mill at 'Longside' in the mid-18th century. Harewood Cupola and the slag mill were built in 1752 and continued in use until at least 1814, and possibly until the end of the 1830s. Remains on the west bank of the stream include low footings of a square building measuring c. 6.5m across. To the north-west, immediately outside the building, there appears to have been a small pond or pit and this is fed by a silted head race or contour leat used to provide water to the mill. Below the square building there are further lynchets to the south-east which may mark the footings of further walls. No trace of buildings on the other stream bank were found and no slag observed in the stream bed. A terraced track on the east side of the stream may have given access to the lead slag mill, and slag has apparently been used in the make-up of the track. Further north on the east side of the stream are two slight conjoined platforms which may represent the remains of a short-lived move to a site closer to the road, as indicated on Sanderson's map of 1835. (2)