Hebblethwaite Mill

Description

Hebblethwaite Mill, unknown date MYD36577 © SDHS, 2004

Hebblethwaite Mill was built in the 1790s by an ex-naval officer called Robert Foster. He inherited Hebblethwaite Hall and estate in 1785 and, being a Quaker, built the mill ‘for the better employment of the poor’. The new mill housed some of the first carding machines in the area, powered by a water wheel. The carded wool was sent out to local families to be spun, before being woven or knitted by hand. Spinning frames soon followed the carding machines and then machines to wash and full the finished cloth were installed. Hand knitting continued as a home-based industry in the area well into the 19th century. Foster retired in 1812 and sold the mill and his estates. Little now survives of the mill building.

Source:

Hartley, Marie (1951) The Old Handknitters of the Dales. Clapham: Dalesman

Hollett, C G (1983) ‘The Woollen Industry in Sedbergh’ Sedbergh & District History Society Occasional Newsletter. No 6 pp24-26

Trott, Freda (1991) Sedbergh. Sedbergh: T W Douglas & Son