Building record MDR23058 - DFS Warehouse, Formerly Warney Mill, Old Road, Darley Dale

DFS Warehouse, Formerly Warney Mill, Old Road, Darley Dale, built in 1859. The former Warney Mill building that still stands as part of the DFS complex was built in 1859, replacing the earlier Warney Corn Mill built c1767. The Tithe map of 1838 is the last map on which the earlier two mill buildings were shown, at Plot No. 1326. (1) The northeastern building is not shown on the 1st edition 25" OS map of c1880, but it appears that the southwestern building on the Tithe map does continue to the time of the 1st edition. (4) It is not shown on the 2nd edition 25" OS map of c1891, where the earlier two mill buildings appear to have been replaced by part of the building that remains on the site today. The latter appears to be included into more recent expansions of the building's footprint. Warney Mill was owned at the beginning of the 19th century by the Allsop family, but after the death of her husband John in 1806, Lydia Allsop left the mill. Over the next 30 years it was rented by various people. In 1825 it was described in an advertisement as a capital water corn mill containing five pairs of stones, with a newly erected dwelling house with suitable outbuildings, together with a piece of rich meadow land called Warney. During this time it continued to be owned by the Allsop family. Dr Josiah Allsop, a physician in Birmingham, owned it until his death in 1832 of cholera, and his son John was the owner throughout the 1840s. In the late 1840s William Else, who had been a miller in Lea, rented the property and, after his death, his son John Else became the miller. In 1859 John started to build the new mill that still stands today. His initials can still be seen over the door. It took about a year to build the mill and construct the dams, and cost about £1800, with teams of up to 18 men working each day. John Else bought the mill from John Allsop in 1860 for £4200, and it stayed in the family for nearly 90 years. His son William ran the mill in the 1890s but became bankrupt and the mill passed to John Else’s son in law James Walton. The mill remained operational throughout the early 20th century but was sold in 1950. In the advertisement it was described as the ‘old established soundly constructed mill…complete with loading bay, machinery, water mill, milldam and croft of land’. There were plans to turn it into a hotel, but eventually it became the DFS warehouse it remains today [2015]. (2) This large stone mill on the Warney Brook, which runs into the River Derwent, operated until at least 1940. From 1891 until it closed, the mill was operated by James Walton & Co. It has been converted into part of a large furniture sales complex. (3) 'Trade directories indicate that ownership of the Mill changed hands several times between the 1838 tithe and 1950. In 1950, Miss Elizabeth Walton sold the Warney Mill Estate at auction, where it was purchased by Sydney & Ernest Johnson, owners of the nearby Ladygrove Mill. In 1960, the mill began to produce flour using electric rather than water power, and four large silos were constructed next to the existing mill building for storage. An extra floor was also added to the mill, and an adjacent six storey tower was built to house the grain bins and machinery. In 1975, Herbert Hardy purchased Warney Mill and had the grain silos demolished. Since the factory had now run on electric rather than water power for several years, the mill pond had silted up and the goits had become overgrown. Hardy had the pond filled in, tarmacked and landscaped, and repurposed the mill building into a warehouse for the DFS furniture outlet, which is still operational today.' (4)