Listed Building record MDR3126 - Greyhound Pond and Watermill, Water Lane, Cromford
Type and Period (5)
- WATERMILL (Georgian to Victorian - 1780 AD to 1900 AD)
- MILL POND (Georgian to Victorian - 1780 AD to 1900 AD)
- WATER WHEEL (Victorian - 1860 AD to 1900 AD)
- COLOUR MILL (Victorian - 1860 AD to 1900 AD)
- SLUICE (Georgian to Victorian - 1780 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- Listed Building (II) 1248238: WATERWHEEL
- World Heritage Site
Full Description
Late 19th century OS maps show the building as 'Paint Works'. (1, 2)
Although the building is present on an early 20th century OS map it is not named. (3)
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. (4)
The waterwheel is a Grade II listed building of late 18th century origin and was 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 gable end of the former machine shop, now much altered, largely rebuilt and used as a motor repair shop. [A note on the original Listed Building Record Card says that the site was in use in the early 18th century] (5)
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. (6)
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. (7)
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. (8)
Sources/Archives (8)
- <1> SDR18789 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1882. OS County Series, 1st edition, scale 1:2500 (c. 25" to one mile). XXXIV - 10.
- <2> SDR18790 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1896-1900. OS County Series, 2nd edition (1st revision), scale 1:2500 (c. 25" to one mile). XXXIV - 10, 1899.
- <3> SDR20367 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1912-1921. OS County Series, 3rd edition (Second Revision), scale 1:2500 (25" to one mile). XXXIV - 10.
- <4> SDR1606 Article in serial: Arkwright Society: Derbyshire Corn Mills - Trail No.14.
- <5> SDR19551 Listed Building File: Historic England. 2011. The National Heritage List for England. 3/2956/081.
- <6> SDR20577 Bibliographic reference: Bayles, F & Ede, J. 1994. The Cromford Guide. p 28.
- <7> SDR18621 Unpublished document: Derwent Valley Mills (DVM) Nomination Steering Panel. 2000. Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage List Nomination Document. p 52.
- <8> SDR18788 Bibliographic reference: Fowkes, D (ed.). 1997. Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology. A Gazetteer of Sites. Part IV. Derbyshire Dales. p. 17.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 2942 5694 (154m by 94m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | CROMFORD, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
| World Heritage Site | Derwent Valley Mills |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- EDR3865
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Nov 7 2023 3:15PM