Tansley Mills

The two Tansley mills are in the Old Coach road near the village of Tansley. They were built in 1783 "for the manufacture of tapes and shawls" and are situated in the valley of a small river which flows southwards from Tansley Moor and joins Bentley Brook, a tributary of the Derwent. Two mill ponds provided water power to drive the machinery. This water supply, unlike that which drained the lead mines and powered Arkwright's mill at Cromford, is liable to freezing in the winter. It had the advantage, however, of containing little lime as had flowed over the acidic rock Millstone Grit. This made it suitable for treating cotton.

The Journal of Industrial Archaeology Vol 2 1965 states that the "Tansley Mills were built in the 1780s by Samuel Unwin who had a house at Tansley. He had taken out his first patent for a mill in about 1770. Writing in 1789 Pilkington mentions a cotton mill erected at Tansley on the Arkwright model "a few years ago". The first record of them being owned by the Hackett family was in a list of apprentices dated 1816 which gave the owners as John Hackett & Sons.

In Farey's book "General View of Derbyshire" of 1817 he refers to the mills at Tansley but does not give the name of the owners. This period was at the very beginning of the industrial Revolution as at the time of Richard Arkwright's death in 1792 White's Directory of 1857 recorded that there were only 16 cotton mills in Derbyshire.

View of the lower Tansley Mill from the north east in 1986

In the same 1816 list of apprentices the nearby Tansley Wood Mill was owned by Radford & Sons. The Radford Family was one of the principal land owning families in the area and the Derby Directory for 1857 lists "Radford, Edward.Cotton Spinner, Tansley Wood." It was later in the ownership A.K Baines who advertised it for sale in the Derby Mercury in 1881. A description of the contents at the time of its sale is set out as Appendix 4.

Pigot's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire in 1835 lists Hackett and Germain, Tansley Mills Matlock. There is also an entry for John Hackett in Matlock which probably refers to Tansley although it is possible that this was another John. A John Hackett is also listed for Derby. There is no other mention of the name Germain in any directory entry for Tansley Mills.

When referring to Tansley, Bagshaws Directory for 1846 states "A cotton mill was erected here at an early period, and there is now an extensive smallware factory and one for candlewicks" The same Directory listed John Hackett and Sons, Smallware manufacturers , Tansley. The will of John Hackett dated 1858 referred to steam engines at the Tansley mills and by the time of the 1861 census about 210 workers were, employed at the two mills.

The only contemporary description found so far was published in the Derby Mercury for August 3rd 1881, the year that the Hacketts left Tansley after the death of Thomas. It was worded as follows:

"TO BE LET Tansley cotton mill and bleach works with adjoining cottages situate one mile from Matlock Bridge Station (adaptable if necessary to a paper works). Good steam and water power. To be let on a seven year Lease from Michaelmas next for further particulars apply to Messrs C Brocklehurst & Son, Liverpool Chambers, 26 Market Street, Manchester.11

Kellys Directory of 1881 listed Robert Lowe Junior as a smallware manufacturer at Tansley. Lowe therefore must have taken up the seven year lease shortly after it was advertised in the Derby Mercury. He made a success of it because four year.. later, in 1895, Bulmer's Directory stated that 'the manufacture of tape is now carried on, on a most extensive scale by Messrs Lowe and Scholes.

In the 1900 Kellys Directory stated that "There is a smallware manufactory and mill for spinning lambs wool… and bleaching works and hosiery manufactory"

During the First World War they were owned by Scholes and made khaki tapes for soldiers' puttees

The 1941 Kelly's Directory listed Hirst Spencer R. Merceriser, bleacher, dyer and sizer of cotton yams, Speedwell Works. Upper Tansley Mill in 1986

When it was first seen by the Author in 1985 there were still two mills each of which was three stories high and built of gritstone. The lower one which was at the bottom of a valley had three rows of 16 windows along its length and had a stream flowing along its eastern side. Built against the north gable was a terrace of substantially built cottages which also had three stories. In the centre of the southern gable was a brick-built chimney, probably for a boiler to supply a steam engine. The chimney appeared to have been built at a later period than the main building as, in addition to being of a different material it was separated by a small gap for much of its height. It was being used as storage place for the County Council and a large new warehouse has been built along side it.

The other mill was further up the valley side and was smaller in size, having three rows of only eight windows. As it had a flat roof which was sloping at a low angle. On the valley side above this mill was a large mill pond with an outlet controlled by a sluice gate. Water from this pond was carried by a cast iron pipe laid along the top of a connecting wall. The pipe reached the mill at the level of the upper floor clearly indicating that it was an overshot wheel like many of Arkwrights mills. A small vertical boiler was in process of being removed. Since then it has been converted to industrial units.

The mill matched the 1881 description as the attached cottages were still there and there was clear evidence of both water and steam power. Bleaching was possibly carried out at the northern end of the large mill where there was a smaller chimney. Outside the upper mill there was a small upright boiler which had recently been taken out.