More Morton Magic #3: Upper Mill
This is the 3rd of a 17-cache series which will take you on a wonderful 6km looping trail up the deep valley of Morton Beck passing historical farm and residential buildings, industrial ruins, mill ponds and weirs, rich deciduous and pine woodlands, a reservoir, waterfall, low moorland, farm fields and then back down an old track and flower-festooned path into the village.
The cache, a camo-topped 35mm film pot, is hidden near the top of Green End Lane on the edge of the site where this mill was located.
Directions: after exploring Botany, from #2 pass through the wall gap just west of Botany Bridge and follow the short section of woodland track along and then climbing above the beck to another wall gap which brings you onto Green End Road close to GZ.
The area bounded by the bridge, Providence Row and Upper Mill has been called Providence Triangle by local explorer and photo-blogger mortonbeckcom.
Somewhere in or just south of this area - between Upper Mill and Botany Mill was another small mill called Holy Land. This worsted mill (build date unknown) which closed (looking at historical map info) sometime between 1851 and 1892, was converted into 4 cottages, and demolished in the 1970s, apparently without trace.
Ousel Hole* or Upper Mill was built further upstream and was the second cotton mill in East Morton. Built in 1798, it was powered by two 30’ diameter waterwheels, one above the other. It was destroyed by a fire in 1899.
*Some sources including the current OS map show Ousel Hole as (also?) the area on the east bank of Morton Beck immediately north of Botany including Providence Row.
Depending on the time of year and the extent of tree cover, from the gate near GZ you may be able to glimpse some of the mill ruins below and behind the row of cottages (eg. the stone walls of the mill building) where a substantial mill pond is located as shown on current maps of the area.
Upper Mill Row, just beyond GZ at the end of Green End Road is, like Providence Row in Botany, an example of a typical row of mill worker cottages built by mill owners.
It will now have become clear that the fast-flowing Morton Beck was a very important feature in local history - and also an exceptional stream having so many mills along its short course. Down the 2.2km stretch between Sunnydale Reservoir and Holroyd Mill there were 9 mills. Castlefields Mill close to its confluence with the Aire makes 10 mills in just 3.3km.
This is an exceptional number for a relatively small stream. The much larger and longer River Worth has a similar number in its 12km from Ponden Reservoir to the Aire, passing through Oakworth, Haworth and Keighley. The 6km Morton Beck from its sources on Rivock and Morton Moors to the Aire is only half that length.
From North to South the mills were:
1. Sunnydale Mill (paper) see #5
2. Upper Mill (c0tton) see #3
3. Holy Land (worsted) see #3
4. Botany Mill (worsted) see #2
5. Low Mill or Oldside Mill (cotton then paper): built in 1792 and owned in 1837 by John Smith of Sunnydale Mill as a cotton mill, it was converted to paper manufacture in 1813, eventually closed in 1906 and most of the mill demolished. Old Side (N 53 52.592 W 1 50.874) the mill owner’s villa, just north of Otley Road across from Silk Mill is one of the few remnants of the mill complex and dates from the early 19th century.
6. Morton Mill or Silk Mill – It is unclear when it was built or if silk cloth was ever manufactured here. It was probably established in the early 19th century on a site flanked by two ponds. The remains of the mill were converted into 4 house on the south side of Otley Road @ N 53 52.588 W 1 50.817
7. Freedom Mill (thick press paper) - early 19th century and fed by the large dam south of Otley Road behind the Silk Mill houses @ N 53 52.559 W 1 50.799
8. Dimples Mill (worsted) this small mill (aka Cliffe Mill?) build date unknown, belonging to Messrs. H. & J. W. Wright, was destroyed by fire on October 28th, 1871, when damage was sustained to the extent of £7,000. It was located where Cliffe Mill Fold (approx N 53 52.381 W 1 50.877) now is. Cliff House across the road was the mill master's residence dating from the early 19th century.
9. Holroyd Mill (worsted) was built in 1812 @ N 53 52.226 W 1 50.880 and closed in 1920. It was tenanted by Messrs. Shackleton. It was fed by an adjacent mill pond still found to the north-east.
10. Castlefields Mill (cotton then worsted) @ N 53 51.521 W 1 51.038 near the confluence of Morton Beck with the River Aire, is the only remaining building still in industrial use. It was built in 1790 with alterations in the mid 19th and early 20th century. See here for more historical info.