Lumsdale Valley is a steep-sided wooded gorge in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

near Matlock,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, in England. It is the location of a series of historic water-powered mills. Lumsdale Valley site is a protected

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

, currently owned and preserved by the

Arkwright Society The Arkwright Society is a registered charity engaged in the conservation of industrial monuments in Derbyshire, focusing on the water mills of Lumsdale Valley, Ashford, Cromford and Slinter Wood. It is named after Richard Arkwright who founded ...

(leased to the society since the 1976 and then bequeathed to it in 1996 by Marjorie Mills). It is within the Lumsdale

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, set up in 1980. The monument consists of a series of historic water-powered mills and other fragile industrial archaeological structures and remains. The privately owned central gorge area of the monument is no longer open to general public access. The name Lumsdale is believed to mean either 'valley of chimneys' (from the Scottish word ''lum'' meaning chimney and reflecting the area's industrial heritage) or 'valley of water pools' (from the English name ''lumb'' meaning a place with a pool).

Water features

Bentley Brook runs through Lumsdale Valley into the River Derwent. The Upper Pond was constructed in the 1780s by Watts, Lowe and Co to supply water for their cotton mill. It has silted up since the dam wall broke in 1947 and is now a designated nature reserve. The Middle Pond was also from the 1780s and was restored in 2014 (funded by the Heritage Lottery) after being dry and overgrown. The Lower Pond was originally a quarry but was converted into a reservoir in 1850. Lumsdale Falls is a scenic natural cascade below the Lower Pond. There is no longer public access to the falls in the central gorge area.

Industrial mills

Lumsdale Mills are a closely located collection of mill buildings from the lead, textile, paint and timber industries. The mills and their associated water-management features along course of Bentley Brook date from the 17th century. The water-powered industrial landscape is a site of national archaeological and historic importance. The Bone Mill (now overgrown ruins) was used for a variety of purposes throughout the 17th century. It was first used as a lead smelting mill and lastly for crushing bone until the 1920s. The Paint Mill dates from the 1600s. It was used for bleaching and lead smelting, was later used a corn mill and was then used for grinding white

barytes Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), a ...

for the paint industry. In 1749 two furnaces for

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

lead were housed in the building now known as Pond Cottages. The factory was converted into cottages for workers of Watts, Lowe and Co's cotton mill.

Richard Arkwright Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as t ...

built the world's first powered cotton-spinning factory at nearby

Cromford Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...

in 1771. Soon after Arkwright's patents expired in 1785, a three-storey water-powered cotton mill was built by Watts, Lowe and Co. However. the firm was bankrupt by 1813 and the mill was acquired by John Garton for bleaching textiles. It was then called Gartons Mill and is now known as the Lower Bleach Works, which closed in 1929. The Upper Bleach Works date from the early 1800s. The Smithy is connected to the Lower Bleach Works and is a Grade II listed building. The Saw Mill was built in the 1850s. It was first used to grind minerals for paint but later became a saw mill.

References

{{Reflist Valleys of the Peak District Valleys of Derbyshire Peak District Derbyshire Dales Matlock, Derbyshire Watermills in Derbyshire Tourist attractions in Derbyshire