George Ward and Co
George Ward and Co, manufacturers of spindles and flyers for textile machinery.
Owned Damstead Works in Dronfield
George Ward erected his Damstead Works on the site of the Middle Mill in Dronfield, in order to manufacture spindles and flyers for woollen and cotton spinning mills both in Britain and France. The works were present by 1833, although the precise date of their construction is not known. There seems to have been a dam still there in c. 1844, and features on the river bank suggest that Ward used the water power in his works. A railway plan of 1846 does not show a dam but depicts the layout of the works clearly. The schedule lists grinding wheels and troughs occupied by several men, a spindle manufactory, smiths' shops, an engine house, machinery, boiler, sheds, a counting house, casting shops and turning or bobbin shops. The former mill dam is divided into gardens, the outline of which can still be seen today.
1835 Damstead Works appears in Pigot's Directory for Derbyshire as Ward, Camm and Siddall … Spindle and Fly Makers.
1856 A explosion at Damstead Works of Messrs Ward and Camm on 3 January 1856 damaged a gable wall; it was seen to be one of many “Sheffield Outrages” at that time, seemingly in protest against Ward allowing non-union people to use part of his works (and his power) to grind cutlery.
The spindle and fly works are believed to have closed in the 1890s due to the subsidence of the building.
Other firms are known to have used the Works until the middle of the 20th century.
2003 the site was subject to the clearance of spoil and rubble, and those features that were revealed were recorded - these included the footprint of the former works, the stone base of a steam engine and a collapsed chimney at the western extent of the site, and further buildings, floor levels and surfaces to the south.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Derbyshire CC