Monument record MDR4270 - Greens Mill (site of), North Lees, Outseats
Type and Period (6)
- MILL POND (Stuart to Georgian - 1665 AD to 1770 AD)
- PAPER MILL (Georgian - 1760 AD to 1770 AD)
- SMELT MILL (Stuart - 1665 AD to 1712 AD)
- WATERMILL (Stuart to Georgian - 1665 AD to 1770 AD)
- WHEEL PIT (Stuart to Georgian - 1665 AD to 1770 AD)
- WEIR (Stuart to Georgian - 1665 AD to 1770 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
The site of a paper mill located on Hood Brook. It was in use in the 1800s and was tenanted in 1809 by Dennis Ibbotson. It worked at least up until 1859 producing coarse brown paper for shop factories. Only the reservoir remains with some adjacent building foundations. There are a number of silt traps upstream that would have ensured clear water for paper manufacture. (1)
The site is approached by a hollow way from the east through the Roman site at the Warren and from the west from Greens Farm. (2)
A drawing in the Sheffield Telegraph, 31/8/1834, shows the mill without a roof. It says the mill worked 80 years ago and that the owner was the landlord of the Norfolk Arms at Ringinglow. (3)
Prior to being a paper mill, the site was a lead smelt mill. Dr L Willies suggests that it was the site of (the first?) Spanish slag hearth in the Peak. There are extensive slag heaps, particularly adjacent to the footpath and stream. (5)
Some disturbance to the ground east of the wheelpit in June 1989 by Bill Gordon, estate warden, pulling stone out of the ground to 'tidy the composite'. An area 6x4m disturbed, up to 400mm deep in parts. Stone heaped at foot of dam, north of wheelpit. Material being returned in June 1990. Some of the stone to be used to build steps up the dam to combat erosion. (6)
Photographic record. (7, 8)
William Savile, lead merchant, purchased North Lees in 1665. A date-stone marked 1685, found on the site, may relate to the mill, but the first documentary indication, if indirect, concerns Robert Graves, smelter, who lived at Greens House, 300 metres west of the mill, in 1712. Richard Bagshawe of Norton was smelting at North Lees in the 1720s. The mill was converted to paper-making by Joseph Ibbotson in the 1760s and continued in use as such into the 19th century. In a conveyance of the estate in 1870 it is described as 'old paper mills .. and mill pond'. Remains of a weir can be seen on the Hood Brook 40m south-west of an ornamental waterfall. The weir diverts water west into a head race, which is now damaged although some water still reaches the pond. The pond is impounded by a stone-revetted dam which has formed the back wall of the demolished mill. The wheel pit is visible but choked. Water returns to the brook via a culverted tail race. Slag is plentiful in the brook near the culvert exit and has scattered downstream for at least 300 metres. (9)
This site comprises the footings/ruins of two-four buildings in an irregularly-shaped yard. Above the yard is a complex embanked millpond and headrace, an upper dam and an overflow leat. Between two of the buildings is a sub-oval structure terraced into the slope. On the upslope side it has a drystone wall retaining to a slight mound above; an eroded area shows this is largely made up of lead smelting slag. The central part of the millpond is retained by a near-vertical drystone revetment with an alcove near the western end that marks the site of the wheel pit. The site is known from documentary sources to have started life as a lead smelting mill. After a probable period of abandonment it was refurbished as a paper mill. Tipped smelting waste just outside the North Lees Estate (SMR 11346) may be associated with this site. (10)
Sources/Archives (10)
- <1> SDR15205 Article in serial: Makepeace, G (Hunter Archaeological Society). 1987. 'An archaeological survey of Bamford and Hathersage Outseats, Derbyshire', Trans. Hunter Arch. Soc.. Volume 14, pp 43-55.
- <2> SDR12665 Unpublished document: Smith,K. 1989. Pers Comm : Smith,K : 16/3/89.
- <3> SDR4862 Article in serial: 1834. Sheffield Telegraph 1834. 31.8.1834.
- <4> SDR13929 Index: NDAT. 1656. 1656.
- <5> SDR12642 Unpublished document: Willies, L. 1990. Pers Comm : Dr L. Willies : 2/1990. 2.1990.
- <6> SDR12664 Personal Observation: Smith,K. Pers Comm : Smith,K. 13/6/1990.
- <7> SDR18970 Photograph: Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA). Black and white photograph collection. 434.17a-24a, 473.0a-1a, 480.34a-35a, 498.17-19.
- <8> SDR18971 Photograph: Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA). Slide Collection. 11319.1-34.
- <9> SDR19452 Article in serial: Crossley, D & Kiernan, D. 1992. 'The lead-smelting mills of Derbyshire', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Vol. 112, pp 6-47.
- <10> SDR19460 Unpublished document: Barnatt, J (PDNPA). 1991. The North Lees Estate, Outseats, Derbyshire, archaeological survey, 1991. Feature A6, pp 3-4.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 2325 8377 (10m by 10m) (Approximate) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | OUTSEATS, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- EDR3733
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Jan 29 2018 3:00PM