Listed Building record MDR3126 - Water Wheel, Water Lane, Cromford
Type and Period (1)
- WATER WHEEL (Georgian to 21st Century - 1775 AD? to 2050 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
Water wheel, Water Lane, Cromford, of late 18th century origin.
'Remains of the 1860 watermill used for grinding minerals for the paint industry. These are now incorporated into a modern garage. The high breast wheel or backshot is metal and of 1860 vintage. The feed from the metal pentrough came through pipes from the Via Gellia. The drive mechanism was from the rim gearing of the wheel.' (1)
'Next to a former paint grinding mill, now a cane workshop, a very fine mid 19th century waterwheel survives, driven by water originally carried in two overhead iron pipes from the cornmill opposite, controlled by the wooden sluice gates near the road.' (2)
'The principal supply of water for the cotton mills was from Cromford Sough. The first mill was powered exclusively from that source until, from the mid 1780s, it was extended and a second wheel added. This wheel derived its water from the Bonsall Brook via an underground culvert controlled by a sluice in the corner of the Greyhound Pond (adjacent to the present day Boat Inn). It is not easy to date the construction of the Greyhound Pond. It may have been one of the ponds referred to by William Bray in 1783, but he may have had in mind the ponds created on the Bonsall Brook for the corn mill which had been erected in 1780. Certainly the Greyhound Pond must have been in existence by 1785, when Richard Arkwright incurred the wrath of the lead miners by damming the Cromford Sough at the Bear Pit so that he could force the sough water into the Greyhound Pond. The culvert Arkwright built for this purpose can be seen from Water Lane to the rear of the Greyhound coach-house and stable-block.' (3)
'Overshot waterwheel supplied by two iron pipes. The wheel dates from around 1860 and was used for paint grinding. Greyhound pond is the lowest of a series of dams and reservoirs built along the Bonsall Brook to store water to power Cromford Mills.' (4)
From the National Heritage List for England:
'1. WATER LANE 1390 CROMFORD
Waterwheel SK 2956 1/81
II
2. Of late C18 origin and built by Richard Arkwright to provide the motive power for his machine shop. The large iron overshot wheel appears to be later and is housed between a massive and partly ruinous stone wall and the gabled end of the former machine shop, now much altered, largely rebuilt and used as a motor repair shop.
Listing NGR: SK2935656965.'
(5)
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SDR1606 Article in serial: Arkwright Society: Derbyshire Corn Mills - Trail No.14.
- <2> SDR20577 Bibliographic reference: Bayles, F & Ede, J. 1994. The Cromford Guide. 28.
- <3> SDR18621 Unpublished document: Derwent Valley Mills (DVM) Nomination Steering Panel. 2000. Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage List Nomination Document. 52.
- <4> SDR18788 Bibliographic reference: Fowkes, D (ed.). 1997. Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology. A Gazetteer of Sites. Part IV. Derbyshire Dales. 17.
- <5> SDR19551 Listed Building File: Historic England. 2011. The National Heritage List for England. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1248238?section=official-list-entry.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | SK 29356 56965 (point) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | CROMFORD, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- EDR3865
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Aug 19 2025 5:43PM