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Welcome to Arkwright's Lumsdale Project

The Lumsdale Valley is one of the best examples of a water-powered industrial archaeological site in Great Britain. It is unusual to see such extensive use of water power in such a relatively small area. Since at least the 16th century, the Bentley brook has provided the power for a series of mills in the valley, some of which continued in industrial use until the 1930s.

In the part of the valley owned by the Arkwright Society there remains at least seven mills including a bleach works all of which were powered by water. It is not possible to say when the water power was first put to use but certainly by the 1600s, there was at least one mill in operation. The demand for water power reached its height in the late 18th century. This followed Arkwright’s successes at Cromford the valley attracted investment on a substantial scale as entrepreneurs fought for sales on which to build their own cotton mills. Subsequently the mills were put to various uses including cotton spinning, bleaching, grinding corn, bone and minerals for paint manufacture. Cottages situated near one of the valley’s ponds, were created from a single building which once housed two lead cupolas with a counting house and smithy on the other side of the track.

As the buildings in the upper section of the valley fell out of use, they were abandoned and allowed to become derelict. The valley, which once had been known for the stark beauty of its rocky outcrops, well-manicured ponds and its waterfall became thickly wooded, dark and forgotten.

There is no knowing what might have happened to this part of Lumsdale had it not been purchased in 1939 by Marjorie Mills. She is a remarkable woman and it is thanks to her tenacity that anything of interest in the Lumsdale Valley has survived. From her first acquaintance with the valley she fell in love with it. Despite many offers for the building stone, she refused to permit demolition of the mill structures, preferring to keep them as they were, surrounded by trees and undergrowth, offering a home to a wide variety of wildlife. Right through until her death in 1996, Marjorie Mills retained her passion for Lumsdale and especially for its trees and natural beauty. But by 1976, she had recognised that she could not protect and manage her property single-handed. The buildings near the road were in danger of falling onto the highway; the dams which once retained the mill ponds had either to be pulled down or repaired; and these issues now had to be considered against a background of an increasing awareness of the archaeological significance of Lumsdale’s derelict mills and water courses. Accordingly, the Arkwright Society was offered the lease of much of Marjorie Mills’ Lumsdale estate on a peppercorn basis, provided it was prepared to undertake the preservation of the valley and on the understanding that it would inherit the area leased.

In 1979, a committee of Lumsdale residents and Arkwright Society members was formed and a plan for the area devised. At the heart of the Arkwright Society’s strategy for the valley, there were three guiding principles. The mills and other buildings for the most part, would not be restored, but rather they were to be frozen in their picturesque decay. Secondly, the public was to be offered access to as much of the site as could be made safe by means of paths, stiles and fencing; and the bosky charm of the wooded areas was to be retained wherever the trees were not endangering structures or public safety.

Twenty Years On

Much of the valley is now owned by the Arkwright Society, bequeathed under the terms of Marjorie Mills’ will. The Society continues to develop its management plan for the valley: maintaining public access and retaining and improving the valley’s woodland and wetland habitats remain primary objectives. The area forms part of a conservation area and Lumsdale’s industrial heritage is now recognised to be of national importance. English Heritage have confirmed that in due course the mills will be scheduled as Ancient Monuments.