Monument record MDR7918 - Tannery and later laundry (site of), Tanner's Lane, Repton

'Tan Vats' are named on the 1st edition 1" Ordnance Survey map of 1836 at approximately SK 299 271. (1) The tanyard was still in use in the 1880s (2), but by the end of the century the site had been enlarged and occupied by Repton Laundry. (3) The earliest map and terrier of Repton, dated 1829, show that a tanyard lay to the west of the village, close to St Thomas’s Well (SMR 24512) and probably on a stream arising from St Ann’s Well (SMR 24527), further west. There are references to a tanner at Repton in 1275 and again in 1545, and it seems likely that the latter, and possibly the former also, were on the same site. The tanyard was still present in 1881, as shown on the OS map of that date; however by 1901 a steam laundry had been established on the site. An advertisement for it, printed in 1905, boasted its healthy situation, good spring water, open-air drying grounds and new and up-to-date machinery and methods, noting that 'Visitors to Repton are cordially invited to inspect the Laundry at any time when working’ . It was demolished in September 1973. The site now forms part of Repton School's Tanyard Sports area. (4)