Nether Loads Farm Red Lead Mill

Overview

England's best-documented surviving red lead mill spent three centuries changing trade -- built as a lead smelter in 1581, doubled into two separate red-lead paint-pigment mills by the Heathcote family, then quietly reborn as a corn mill by the Victorian era.

History

The mill at Nether Loads, on the Loads Brook near Chesterfield, began as a lead smelting mill first recorded in 1581, its stream powering the bellows for the smelter. In the 16th century the Heathcote family of Chesterfield were notable lead smelters, using boles north-west of Over Loads; George Heathcote is assumed to have been using a water-powered smelting mill here by 1584, though firm evidence has not survived. His son and grandson, George Heathcote II and III, continued the trade, and an inventory made on George III's death in March 1637 shows a red-lead mill had by then been added alongside the original smelting mill; his widow Grace Heathcote retained the Nether Loads mills, marked as 'Widow Heathcote's smelting mill' on a map drawn by William Senior between 1637 and 1640. Between 1659 and 1677, when George Heathcote IV died, the original smelting mill had itself been converted into a second red-lead mill, a sign of how profitable the paint-pigment trade had become; there is no record of the Heathcote family's continued involvement in the lead trade after the 1690s. Both red-lead mills nonetheless survived and were still described in the proceedings of the Temple Normanton manor court between 1799 and 1806, before being converted to corn milling by the mid-19th century -- the mill is mentioned in the 1840 Tithe award, and by 1851 Dan Ripley, living at Nether Loads, was recorded as a 'corn miller'. During house-conversion building works in 1997, traces of the site's earlier smelting operations were uncovered. At the site's north-western end stands a now-dry pond retained by a small dam; south-east of it, a standing building measuring 7 by 4 metres, now used as an agricultural store, represents the south-western end of the red-lead and corn mills -- the only known red-lead mill building left standing above ground anywhere in England. Fragments of the rest of the mill building survive to the north-east, including remains of its north wall built into the current field boundary. Immediately south of the building lies a circular earthwork, the remains of a crushing circle used to grind red lead, while slighter earthworks running east across the field mark the mill's tail-race, with slag deposits still visible exposed in the stream bank. Scheduled as a nationally important monument in September 1996, Nether Loads is considered the best known surviving example of a red-lead mill complex anywhere in England, and is fundamental to the archaeological study of red-lead production technology in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Geology

A lead smelting and red-lead pigment-production site on the Loads Brook, later converted to corn milling, not itself an extraction working.

Workings

A dry millpond and dam, the standing south-west end of the red-lead/corn mill building (England's only known standing red-lead mill building), fragmentary mill-building remains, a red-lead crushing circle, and a tail-race with exposed slag deposits.

Closure

Both red-lead mills were still in use as of 1799-1806, but had been converted to corn milling by the mid-19th century; by 1851 the site's resident was recorded as a 'corn miller'.

What remains

Scheduled as a nationally important monument since September 1996; the surviving mill building is now used as an agricultural store.

A dry millpond and dam, a standing 7m x 4m mill building, fragmentary building remains built into a field wall, a red-lead crushing circle earthwork, and tail-race earthworks with exposed slag survive.

Nearby mines

• Stone Edge Smelt Mill — 2.6 km S
• Linacre Wood Smelt Mill — 3.4 km NE
• Boythorpe Colliery — 5.5 km E
• Avenue Colliery — 6.8 km E
• Bar Brook Lead Mill — 6.9 km NW

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• A smelt mill at Loads is first recorded in 1581; a red lead mill had been added by 1634, and by 1677 the smelt mill had been converted into a second red lead mill, both remaining in use until after 1799 but converted into corn mills by the mid-19th century. ¹
• An inventory made in March 1637, on the death of George Heathcote III, shows that a red-lead mill had been built in addition to the smelting-mill; his widow Grace Heathcote retained the Nether Loads mills, as indicated on a map drawn by William Senior between 1637 and 1640 which marks 'Widow Heathcote's smelting mill'. ²
• The Nether Loads mill retains a good diversity of features including the only known red lead mill building left standing above ground, and is considered to be the best known surviving example of a red lead mill complex in England, fundamental to the archaeological study of red lead production technology in the 17th and 18th centuries. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Red lead mill, lead smelt mill, and corn mill to the east of Nether Loads Farm, Holymoorside and Walton, Derbyshire — AncientMonuments.uk (mirroring the Historic England scheduling record)
2. (primary) Derbyshire HER: Red lead mill, lead smelt mill and corn mill, Nether Loads Farm, Holymoorside and Walton (MDR7513) — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026