River Meden

River at Burns Lane in Warsop

The River Meden is a small river flowing mainly in Nottinghamshire, though forming for a while the border of Nottinghamshire with Derbyshire.

The source of the river lies just north of Huthwaite, near the edge of Derbyshire border, and from there it flows north-east forming the county border in Pleasley, and on to Warsop. Below Warscop, near Bothamsall, the Medan joins the River Maun, but the rivers divide after a short distance and go on separately to a point near Markham Moor where they once more combine to form the River Idle.

The river was a source of water power for mills in Pleasley Vale from the 1760s until the 1980s. Three huge cotton mills and their associated mill ponds still dominate the Vale. The buildings were bought by the local council in 1992, and have become a centre for light industry. On a much smaller scale was the water mill at Warsop, which still retains much of its internal machinery.

Mills

The river near Pleasley Vale has been utilised to provide power since at least 1767, when two forges and a corn mill are known to have been operating. The forges were run by George Sitwell, and were called Nether and Upper forge. The engineered river channel made it a good site for further development, and a consortium of businessmen from Nottingham and drapers from Mansfield leased the vale and Pleasley Park in 1782, in order to construct water-powered cotton mills. The Upper Mill (now called Mill 1) was built first, on the site of the previous corn mill, and was operational by 1785. The Lower Mill (now Mill 3) was completed seven years later at a cost of £1,190, and was much bigger. A manager's house and a row of ten houses for the workers were also completed in 1792.

The mills supplied cotton to the expanding Midlands hosiery industry. One of the original three businessmen was Henry Hollins, and by the early 18th century, the mills were run by William Hollins and Co. They were the first and one of the most successful cotton producers in the eastern counties.

The Upper Mill (now Mill 1) at Pleasley Vale

The Hollins family managed the mills for many years, but from the 1830s were joined by the Pagets, who introduced steam power to the mills. Fire destroyed the Upper Mill on 25 December 1840, but it was rebuilt by 1844. The Lower Mill also burnt down, and was replaced in 1847. Newer equipment fitted as part of the rebuilding enabled the mills to stay competitive. William Hollins lived at Pleasley Vale, and oversaw the expansion of the community, with the construction of more houses for the workers, the provision of public facilities including a school, wash house, and a cooperative society, and attention to leisure activities by the establishing of a Mechanics Institute, a library and a cricket club. A company farm was also established. St Chad's Chapel and the vicarage were commissioned by Charles Paget in 1876. The Chapel was opened in 1881, but was reputedly built in 1861 at Stuffynwood in Derbyshire, and later moved to its present site. It has a small bell turret at its western end, and a number of its features mimic thirteenth and fourteenth century styles. Internally, there is a brass memorial to Paget and his wife Helen Elizabeth.

From the 1890s, the mills produced Viyella, a mixture of cotton with Merino wool, which produces a soft fabric. They continued to flourish, as various extensions show. The Upper Mill was extended in the 1890s, when a fourth storey was added, and again, probably in 1913, when extensions were added to the north and rear.

A large combing shed, where cotton fibres were straightened and aligned prior to the production of fabric, was built just below it in 1913. This was a two-storey building, with a single storey wing at the back. It was extended in 1952, when an extra two floors were added to the main shed, and a three-storey block was added at the side. At this point, it became a mill, and is now called Mill 2.

The Lower Mill was also extended, but because it was much larger than the Upper Mill when it was built, and the extensions were relatively small, it retains more of its original character. There were 980 workers employed at the site in 1934, but decline gradually set in. The first workers houses were demolished in 1961, to be followed by the school, the baths and the Mechanics Institute. By 1987, production had moved abroad, and the mills closed.

Points of interest

• Meden and Maun form Idle: 53°16’7"N, -0°56’52"W; SK702751 (mouth)
• Meden and Maun join and split: 53°14’28"N, 1°-0’51"W; SK658720
• Thoresby Lake: 53°13’43"N, 1°2’59"W; SK635706
• A60 bridge, Church Warsop: 53°12’40"N, 1°8’59"W; SK568685
• Robin Hood Line bridge: 53°10’56"N, 1°12’15"W; SK532653
• Pleasley Vale and Mills: 53°10’45"N, 1°13’34"W; SK518649
• Springs: 53°8’30"N, 1°18’26"W; SK464607 (source)
• Springs: 53°8’8"N, 1°16’22"W; SK487600 (source)

Outside links

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