Cannon Mill, Chesterfield

Today's blip is of a building which is close to my heart, Cannon Mill. Well, it is the plaque on the disused mill to be specific.

I recall the mill being part of a GCSE History project and I found it remarkable that there were so many traces in the area of our rich industrial past. This is a building many will know in Chesterfield; they may even know the name, but few will know exactly what it did. The cannon balls maybe a bit of a giveaway.

The mill is the oldest industrial building in the town and was at the very heart of the original industrial centre of Chesterfield and the origins of Britains Industrial Revolution, forming part of the massive Griffin Foundary which dominated the local landscape

The foundry fired the Industrial Revolution, building Newcomen and other steam engines and pumping machinery used in lead, coal mines and later, the textile industry. In 1791, they produced the atmospheric Newcomen engine which ran for 125 years at Pentrich & Oakerthorpe Colliery. Today, that engine resides in the Science Museum in London.

From around 1775 to the early 1800s, the Griffin Foundry produced ordnance, cannon and cannon balls. These were used in the American War of Independence, wars with Spain and Holland through to the Napoleonic Wars.

The mill has now fallen into disrepair and there were plans to restore this industrial gem, as well as its water wheel and original mill pond.

An architectural survey was conducted in December 2003, highlighting the urgent need for remedial work to save the structure, claiming "if nothing is done the building will be lost within a few years."

That was over 6 years ago and nothing has happened. As the town council attempts to re-align the towns position and cast off the pivotal role the town played in the Industrial Revolution, there is a real threat that this historical building will be lost as does not fit in with the current tourism plans.