New York is a settlement in Nidderdale in the

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa ...

district of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England. It is on the

River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of aroun ...

, near Summerbridge, and about south-east of Pateley Bridge. The settlement originated as terraces of weavers' houses around a flax mill built by William Hebden in about 1814 on agricultural land by the River Nidd. In 1834 the mill was acquired by Francis Thorpe of

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

, who renamed it New York Mill. By 1834 Thorpe was employing 150 people at the mill. In the 1870s the export of yarn declined, and the business failed in 1883. In 1889 the Gill family bought the mill, rebuilt it and replaced the old

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...

s with a

water turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, ...

. In 1891 they installed a second turbine to provide the first electric light in Nidderdale. The Gills started to spin yarns of

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of '' Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants ...

for the production of twine. They modernised the mill in the 1930s, and in the 1960s started to spin artificial fibres for carpets. The Gill family sold the mill in 1968, and the new owners closed it in 1980. The property has now been converted into a small industrial estate.

References

External links

Hartwith Heritage Group: New York Mill
Nidderdale Villages in North Yorkshire {{harrogate-geo-stub