Monument record MDR690 - Meadow Mills, Shepley Street, Old Glossop
Type and Period (2)
- COTTON MILL (Georgian to Victorian - 1780 AD to 1900 AD)
- MILL POND (Georgian to Victorian - 1780 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
A three-storey mill building called Meadow Mills is now swamped by the modern buildings of Glossop Super Alloys [1984]. Meadow Mills was formerly an extremely complex group of six mills dating from 1784 onwards. In later years they belonged to S Rowbottom & Co (1891, 1922). The surviving buildings are part of what was known as the 'New Mill' in 1852, some of the earliest buildings being on Shelf Brook to the south. Upstream there was a thread mill of 1789. (1)
Between 1784 and 1791 the first mills were built in this area, on land which had previously been open meadow. Construction began with Warth Mill and Shepley Mill on the Shelf Brook. A second phase of mill building began in 1807 with what became known as the Old Water Mill on the west side of Tanyard Meadow and 13 cottages which became Barrack Row. Barrack Mill was added to the end of the cottages in 1811 and a further mill, the New Water Mill, was built in 1815 close to Warth Mill. The mills had varying success. Thread Mill continued in use until 1845, Shepley Mill closed in the 1850s, Barrack Mill continued until c. 1874 and Old Water Mill until 1880. (2)
The 1881 OS map shows five mill ponds and names Warth Mill, Water Mill and Meadow Mills, all cotton. It also shows a gasometer near Warth Mill and a rope walk to the south of Meadow Mills. (3) The 1898 map only names Meadow Mills, which had expanded considerably by that time to cover the earlier rope walk. At least part of the earlier Warth Mill is named as a saw mill. (4)
Also known as Grove Mill, built by Robert Shepley of Shepley Street, as a cotton mill, in 1825, it also manufactured cotton ropes, bands and tape. At one time it was managed by Ben James Wilkinson, who lived in a house adjoining the mill which, because of its irregular shape, was nicknamed the 'Old Salt Box'. It became a silk mill sometime before 1838 and changed its name to Silk Mill. It was occupied by James Bosley, Smith, Bosley & Company. The mill changed hands in 1846, when it was leased to William Walker, who changed the mill back to cotton spinning. The last mill tenant was Alderman Samuel, but the mill burned down under his tenancy in the early 1870s. Also on this site was Waterloo Mill, originally Lower Water Mill, it was renamed after the great victory of Wellington over Bonaparte. Old Mill and Twist Mill were among the various names given to the mills built on this land, the lease of which dates from 1st August 1807. The mill was powered by a waterwheel, driven by two goits, or sluices, from Shelf Brook. The mill included 13 houses known as Barrack Row, together with warehouses. In 1815 John Wood & Bros Ltd acquired the lease and sold it in 1825. The mill was unoccupied for 15 years from 1831. In 1846 Mr Thomas Leigh became the tenant. In September 1851 Mr John Newton Winterbottom took a 21 year lease. The mill was burned down on 29 May 1879. (5)
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SDR4751 Bibliographic reference: Fowkes, D. 1984. Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology - A Gazetteer of Sites. Part I. Borough of High Peak. p 21.
- <2> SDR19365 Bibliographic reference: Hanmer, J & Winterbottom, D. 1991. The Book of Glossop.
- <3> SDR18789 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1882. OS County Series, 1st edition, scale 1:2500 (c. 25" to one mile). Sheet II.12, 1881.
- <4> SDR18790 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1896-1900. OS County Series, 2nd edition (1st revision), scale 1:2500 (c. 25" to one mile). Sheet II.12, 1898.
- <5> SDR21119 Bibliographic reference: Quayle, T. 2006. The Cotton Industry in Longdendale and Glossopdale. p 129, 137 illus p 129.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 044 949 (424m by 278m) (Multiple Site Centre) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | GLOSSOP, HIGH PEAK, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- EDR3373
- EDR3566
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Feb 14 2017 12:43PM