Monument record MDR12703 - White Mill (site of), Hadfield, Glossop

The 1st ed. 25" OS map of c. 1880 marks 'White Mill (Cotton)', although by the end of the 19th century the mill is marked as 'Disused'. Two mill ponds are named, one to the south-west and one to the south-east of the mill. (1, 2) By the time of the 3rd edition, the site is marked as 'Hadfield Lodge Farm' and at least one of the mill ponds had been filled in. (3) The site was originally that of a cotton mill known at first as the 'Higher Mill'. Its date of construction is uncertain. It has been suggested that it was built between 1782 and 1784 by John Thornley 'for his sons to occupy and work'. It was certainly in existence by 1803, as it is included in a list of 37 Derbyshire cotton mills registered with Parliament at that date. An engraving of 1810 shows the mill as a four-storey rectangular block with a smaller, three-storey building abutting its east face and with an external stair tower projecting from the mill's south elevation. The buildings appear to be rendered and possibly whitewashed, leading to the later name of 'White Mill'. The western part of the mill appears to contain a loading area, with a large taking-in door on the ground floor and a pulley and bale-hoist, and a loading door on the first floor. A further pulley and bale-hoist are shown at first floor level on the mill's west face also. A mill yard is located immediately to the west of the mill, open to the road at the west but separated from the mill pond at the south by a curvilinear stone wall. Some of this wall survives. The water wheel is not depicted on the illustration and this, together with the position of the mill pond at the south-west and the mill's tail goit to the Padfield Brook at the north-east, suggests that the wheel was on the north side of the mill. By 1834 the mill was in the possession of the Platt family, who renamed it 'White Mill'. A map of 1874 shows that two additional buildings had been constructed on the north side of the mill by that date, one standing in the mill yard, the other abutting the north-east corner of the main mill block. Comparison of this map with the 1st ed. 25" OS map of c. 1882 indicates additional changes, for example, demolition of the building that stood in the yard, and construction of two buildings on the north side of the mill. Edward Platt and Son, cotton manufacturers, are listed at White Mill in Kelly's 1887 trade directory of Derbyshire. However, the mill had gone out of use by the end of the 19th century. A fire destroyed part of the original mill in the early 20th century, although the three-storey building shown on the 1810 engraving survived the fire and was converted into a farmhouse. Brookside Bungalow was constructed on the site by 1921, in approximately the area originally occupied by the loading and unloading block depicted on the 1810 engraving. It is not clear to what extent, if any, the bungalow may have incorporated elements of the former mill building. (4-6) Three mills were built, probably by the Thornley family, along Padfield Brook; known locally as Thornley's (Bankbottom) Mill [see SMR 33311], White or Hadfield Lodge Mill, and Red Mill. It would appear from the 1857 Poor Law Map that these three mills shared a common water supply, and their sites were also a single entity for rating purposes. White Mill seems to have been built of brick, albeit later rendered and lime-washed. The other two mills may well have used brick too. The use of brick for mills in this area before 1925 usually indicates freehold land, strengthening the suggestion that the mills were built by the Thornley family. The mills could not have been built before the Torside Goit, which would have ensured a greater and more reliable volume of water, and is likely to have been in place by 1791. It is unlikely that Robert Thornley would have built another mill on Padfield Brook after 1795, as by that date he and his brother John were engaged in building a much bigger complex higher up the Etherow. A reasonable supposition, therefore, is that all three mills were built between about 1789 and 1795. It is possible that White Mill is the 'Higher Mill', as suggested by sources 4-6 above. However, this term was never in common use locally, and its attributions must be uncertain in view of the existence of Red Mill, which would actually have been the highest of the three Thornley mills. If the 1803 register says that Thomas Thornley was also working 'Lower Mill' at that date, this would suggest that this was actually White Mill, as source 4 indicates that he didn't take over Bankbottom Mill until 1824 when his brothers were made bankrupt. (7-8)