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New Mills

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NEW MILLS, a township and village in the parish of Glossop, hundred of High Peak, county Derby, 8 miles S.E. of Stockport, its post town, and 5 N.W. of Chapel-en-le-Frith. It is a station on the Buxton branch of the North-Western railway. It is situated in a manufacturing district at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Kinder, the latter of which derives its source from the mountain of Kinder-Scout, and here separates the counties of Derby and Chester. The township formerly comprised seven hamlets, but was subdivided about a century ago, and now contains the hamlets of Beard, Ollerset, Thornsett, and Whitle.

There are large iron and brass foundries, cotton mills, and bleach and print works scattered through various parts of the township, which together give employment to a large portion of the inhabitants. The original branches of manufacture were those of paper and cloth, but these have been entirely suspended.

The appellation of New Mills is more particularly applied to a cluster of houses and factories which rise in tiers one above another from the brink of the river to the summit of the crags, a height of several hundred feet, and also extend along the turnpike road as far as London Place.

The land not built over is chiefly meadow and pasture, with a small proportion of arable and woodland. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Lichfield, value £160, in the patronage of the Vicar of Glossop. The church, dedicated to St. George, is a modern structure with a spired tower, the expense of which was partly defrayed by the parliamentary commissioners. There is a National school for both sexes. The Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, Association Methodists, Independents, and Roman Catholics have each a place of worship."

"BEARD, a hamlet in the parish of Glossop, hundred of High Peak, in the county of Derby, 4 miles to the N.W. of Chapel-en-le-Frith. It is situated in the district of the High Peak, not far from the river Etherow. The Peak railway passes near it."

"OLLERSETT, a hamlet in the parish of Glossop, hundred of High Peak, county Derby, 4 miles N.W. of Chapel-en-le-Frith."

"THORNSETT, a hamlet in the parish of Glossop, hundred of High Peake, county Derby, 5½ miles N.W. of Chapel-en-le-Frith, on a branch of the river Goyt. Brindley, the engineer, was born here in 1716, and died in 1772."

"WHITTLE, a hamlet in the district of New Mills, parish of Glossop, county Derby, 6 miles N.W. of Chapel-en-le-Frith.”

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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Archives & Libraries

Andrew CARNEGIE funded the Public Free Library built in Hall Street in 1909.

By 1912 the library held 7,456 volumes.

You may want to check out the Local Studies and Family History section at the Library.

The Library is normally closed on Wednesdays and Sundays and on Bank Holidays.

Low Leighton hamlet is served by the Mobile Library on route N, which makes two stops every fourth Monday in the midday.

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Cemeteries

Just to the north of the village lies Thornsett Cemetery, High Hill Road, New Mills.

William BOADEN has a photograph of St George's churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2011.

Roger W. HAWORTH has a photograph of the Quaker Burial Ground in Low Leighton, just east of New Mills, on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2015.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Hayfield sub-district of the Hayfield Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1861R.G. 9 / 2554 & 2555
1871R.G. 10 / 3648
1891R.G. 12 / 2787
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint George.
     
  • The church was built in the hamlet of Beard in 1831.
     
  • Geoff PICK has a photograph of St. George church on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2004.
     
  • The church was renovated in 1897.
     
  • The church seats 850.
     
  • The Mission Church of St. James the Less was erected in 1880-81.
     
  • Neil THEASBY has a photograph of St. James the Less on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2015.
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1831.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Glossop.
     
  • You can find the New Mills 1841 Tithe Map at New Mills History.
     
  • Roger W. HAWORTH has a photograph of the Quaker Meeting House on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2015.
     
  • A Catholic Church dedicated to Saint Mary was built of stone in 1843.
     
  • The Catholic Church is now Annunciation RC Church, but it is still on St. Mary's Road.
     
  • David BEVIS has a photograph of St. Mary's RC Church on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2013.
     
  • Saint Mary's R. C. Church has its own Website.
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodist chapel was erected in 1810 on St. George's road.  It has its own cemetery.
     
  • The Primitive Methodist chapel was erected in 1876 in Spring Bank.
     
  • Bill BOADEN has a photograph of the United Reformed Church on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2011.
     
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Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Hayfield sub-district of the Hayfield Registration District.
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Description & Travel

"NEW MILLS, an extensive hamlet, in the parish of Glossop, and in the High Peak hundred, is 14 miles from Manchester, 6 from Chapel-en-le-Frith, and 8 from Stockport. It is pleasantly situate on the borders of Derbyshire and Cheshire; and, within a comparatively few years, has risen to importance in the manufacturing district; cotton spinning being carried on here to a considerable extent, affording employment to numerous hands."

[Description from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835]

The parish includes the hamlets of Beard, Ollerset, Thornset and Whitle. Low Leighton was 1 mile south of New Mills and 3 miles west of Hayfield. It is here that the Hayfield Union Workhouse was located. A Quaker Meeting Hall was built here in 1717.

Passenger rail service arrived at New Mills in 1865. David DIXON has a photograph of New Mills Central Station on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2012.

Gerald ENGLAND has a photograph of the New Mills Bus Station on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2019. The "Station" is just a turning area with three bus shelters.

Tom CURTIS has a photograph of the Union Bridge at New Mills on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2017.

You can see pictures of New Mills which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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History

Neil THEASBY has a photograph of The Pride of the Peaks public house on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2015.

J. THOMAS has a photograph of the Hare and Hounds public house, Low Leighton Road, on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2018.

These are the names associated with the Hare and Hounds Inn in various directories:

Year Person
1891Richard GOBLE
1895Richard GOBLE
1912Mrs. Helen GOBLE

Bill BOADEN has a photograph of The White Hart Pub. in High Street on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2011.

Graham HOGG has a photograph of The Pack Horse Inn in Whitle hamlet on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2017.

These are the names associated with the The Pack Horse Inn in various directories:

Year Person
1899George BRUNT
1912Robert LOFTHOUSE

You may want to stop in at the New Mills Heritage Centre, photographed here by Peter TURNER on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2003.

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Maps

  • The national grid reference is SJ 9987.
     
  • There is an 1841 Tithe Map of New Mills at the New Mills History site.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK009856 (Lat/Lon: 53.367267, -1.987938), New Mills which are provided by:

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Military History

During World War One, there was a VAD Red Cross Hospital here.

The "Beeches" was an annex to the VAD New Mills.

You can view the War Memorial at War Memorials Online.

Darren HADDOCK has a photograph of the War Memorial in St. George's churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in December, 2004.

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Military Records

  • For a list of the names on the New Mills War Memorial which stands in the churchyard, see the Marjorie WARD site.
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Names, Geographical

  • The name of New Mills derives from the corn mills built beside the river Kinder. It was originally known as Bowden-Middle-Call, comprising several hamlets, when early in the 18th century a 'new mill' was erected on the River Kinder for the use of the inhabitants in grinding corn, and the name of 'New Mills' was born.

    Later in the 18th century, the Lancashire Cotton Industry found the conditions at New Mills ideal for cotton production, resulting in increased prosperity for the district. However around this time also, Milford in South Derbyshire was known briefly as 'New Mills' as well.

    The name 'New Mills Road' appears on a map of Duffield as it was in the Year 1787, and also the indentures of Samuel Slater, Jedidiah Stutt's apprentice, who founded the American cotton spinning industry. A copy of Slater's Indentures is on display at The Arkwright Mill in Cromford, the wording of which suggests he was living at "New Mills" which it has been suggested was an attempt to give Milford a new name.

    So researchers might like to bear in mind, if they find reference to their ancestors at New Mills in Derbyshire dated around the 1780s, that there is just a slight possibility it may not refer to the New Mills in North Derbyshire. This has certainly happened in the past, as a number of older textbooks suggest Samuel Slater was from New Mills in Cheshire.

    [Information on 'New Mills' kindly provided by Jed BLAND - see his website Old Duffield
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Politics & Government

  • This Township was originally in Cheshire and was re-assigned to Derbyshire in 1844.
     
  • This place was an ancient Township in Glossop parish in Derby county and it was incorporated as a separate, modern Civil Parish in December, 1866.
     
  • This parish was in the ancient High Peak Hundred (or Wapentake).
     
  • On 1 April, 1934, the parish gained 126 acres when the parish of Newtown was dissolved.
     
  • On 1 April, 1936, the parish gained 40 acres from the parish of Disley which had some border alignments changed.
     
  • You may contact the New Mills Town Council regarding civic or political matters, but they can NOT perform family history searches for you.
     
  • David BEVIS has a photograph of the Town Hall on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2013.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Chapel-en-le-Frith petty session hearings once each month.
     
  • The parish had six almshouses near Spring Bank and could house 11 poor and aged persons
     
  • With the passage of the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a member of the Hayfield Poorlaw Union.
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Schools

A Catholic School was built here in 1860, for 35 boys, 35 girls and 10 infants.

The parish formed a School Board in October, 1875, of 7 members.

Spring bank (mixed) school was erected in 1878 to hold 370 students, Average Attendance in 1891 was 240.

A larger New Mills School was constructed in 1912. Neil THEASBY has a photograph of New Mills School at Hidebank on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2015.

A school was erected in Hague Bar in 1878 to hold 130 children and was enlarged in 1893 to take 66 more.