Bewerley – SE 115648
This mill, which is shown on a plan dated 1789, was built by Overend & Co., who were lessees of the Coldstones mines from November 1782. According to Jennings, the mill was still working in 1818, but Moss’s plan of the area, dated 1800, does not show it. Many factors, however, point to Gillfield Mill having closed by the end of the 18th century.
For example, the mill’s water supply came from Thornhill Level and was supplemented by the intermittent flow of Sand Gill Beck. This supply was greatly diminished when Gillfield Level reached the Waterhole Vein and took the water off lower than the mill. Moreover, Coldstones and Cockhill Mines had many partners in common and, by 1800, the principal shareholder of both mines was Edward Cleaver. It remains to be proved, but it is likely that this, and the cross-interest of shareholders, led to the transfer of smelting to the nearby Cockhill Mill.
Further information and references can be found in:
- Gill, M.C. Yorkshire Smelting Mills Part 2, Northern Mine Research Society Memoirs 1993, British Mining No 48, pp 132-151
