Site record MDR689 - Site of Turnlee Paper Mills, Turnlee Road and Charlestown Road, Glossop
Type and Period (3)
- PAPER MILL (Hanoverian to Mid 20th Century - 1835 AD? to 1961 AD?)
- COTTON MILL (Georgian to Hanoverian - 1790 AD? to 1835 AD?)
- BUILDING (Mid 20th Century to 21st Century - 1961 AD? to 2015 AD?)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
Former site of Turnlee Paper Mills, Turnlee Road and Charlestown Road, Glossop, an industrial complex established in 1790.
Turnlee Paper Mills. Late 19th century gritstone mill buildings, the residue of a much larger complex. An isolated gritstone chimney is located in a bank to the south west of the remaining mill buildings [see SMR 33312]. In the 1960s part of the complex was demolished but sections are still in use for a variety of industrial purposes. (1)
In 1835, directories list John and Joseph Bennett at Turn Lee. Other occupants followed. While owned by Edward Partington and William Olive in the 1870s, rags, straw, jute and esparto were used for the manufacture of the paper. However in 1885 Mr Partington (later Lord Doverdale) began experimenting in sulphite pulp and by 1888 the mill was largely using wood. In 1922 five machines were being operated, making a range of products. The mill ceased making paper in the 1960s. (2)
The 2nd edition 25" OS map of 1898 shows a number of large buildings together with several named mill ponds, filter ponds and sluices. (3)
One of the largest paper mills in the North of England. Turn Lee is first mentioned in a directory of 1848, as owned by Samuel Kershaw & Company (cotton spinners, paper makers, and cotton wool carders). In 1870 Turn Lee was owned by T. H. Ibbotson, paper makers. The mill changed ownership in 1873, when it was purchased by Edward Partington. Turn Lee Paper Mill adopted 'the sulphite process', perfected in 1878 by E. Ritter and Carl Keller, manufacturing up to 120 tons of paper per week, employing 600 workers. The mills worked continuously from Sunday night until Saturday morning on the production of paper. Saturdays and Sundays were used to clean and maintain machinery and premises. In 1876 the firm became Olive & Partington, and in 1954 it became Olive & Partington Ltd., a subsidiary of the Inveresk Paper Company Ltd. Turn Lee closed down in 1961. (4)
The original use of the site seems to have been as a cotton spinning mill, established in the 1790s using methods first used by Richard Arwright in the 1770s. This mill lay on the eastern side of the Turnlee Road. A map of 1857 shows that the cotton mill had become a paper mill some time before then. By the late 19th century the paper mill had been greatly extended and use pulp imported from Russia and Scandinavia. By 2018 the original buildings had been demolished but others, mainly late 19th and early 20th century were still standing to the east. (5)
Sources/Archives (6)
- <1> SDR4751 Bibliographic reference: Fowkes, D. 1984. Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology - A Gazetteer of Sites. Part I. Borough of High Peak. p 20.
- <2> SDR19968 Article in serial: Schmoller, T. 1994. 'Some notes on Derbyshire paper mills, part 2', The Quarterly. Issue no. 10 (March), pp 1-5.
- <3> SDR18790 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1896-1900. OS County Series, 2nd edition (1st revision), scale 1:2500 (c. 25" to one mile). Sheet II.16, 1898.
- <4> SDR21119 Bibliographic reference: Quayle, T. 2006. The Cotton Industry in Longdendale and Glossopdale. 113.
- <5> SDR24247 Unpublished document: Mora-Ottomano, A, Cockburn, P and G Eadie (ARS Ltd). 2013. Charlestown Works, Glossop, Derbyshire: Updated Cultural Heritage Desk-based Assessment and Building Appraisal.
- <6> SDR24293 Unpublished document: Mora-Ottomano, A and P Cockburn (ARS Ltd). 2011. Charlestown Works, Glossop, Derbyshire: A Cultural Heritage Desk-Based Assessment and Historic Building Appraisal.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 032 930 (227m by 295m) Multiple Site Centre |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | GLOSSOP, HIGH PEAK, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- EDR4765
- EDR4714
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
May 9 2023 1:25PM