The picturesque hamlet of Low Matlock, also known as Little Matlock, is at the heart of an extensive set of historic water power remains that are recognised for their national heritage significance.
The large stone-gabled building at the back of the photograph is the Low Matlock or Little Matlock rolling mill – one of the last sites in Sheffield where steel was “hand rolled” in the traditional way. This was a skilled and hazardous process that involved drawing red hot lengths of steel through rollers using hand-held tongues.
The rolling mill was rebuilt on its original foundations after the original building was destroyed by the Sheffield Flood in 1864.
It was powered by its water wheel until around 1956. Production then continued, powered by electricity, until the early years of the current century.
Water for the site was drawn from the River Loxley by a large weir that feeds the lovely dam just above the old buildings, (now a private fishing pond). The weir can still be seen from the path through the woods about a quarter of a mile upstream.
The mill dam fed the water wheel at the side of the rolling mill. It’s the largest surviving water wheel in Sheffield, but sadly it is now falling into a decrepit and overgrown state.
The path to the woods is at the lower southern end of the hamlet. It crosses a bridge over the “tail goit” that fed water back to the river after it had turned the water wheel. The path then crosses the river itself over more a recent wooden footbridge.
National heritage recognition of the site
The water power remains, stretching from the weir to the end of the tail goit, are listed by Historic England as a Scheduled Monument. This recognises their historic significance as a nationally important archaeological site.
The rolling mill itself, including its water wheel and gearing mechanisms, is also a Grade II starred listed building in its own right.
The imposing terrace of houses just above the rolling mill on Low Matlock Lane is known as River Dale House and River Dale cottages. This is also a Grade II listed building. It provided housing for the rolling mill’s workers and site manager, and survived the 1864 flood because of its slightly higher location.
The terrace and adjacent buildings were converted to private housing in the early years of this century.
You can read more about the history of the site and the events of the Sheffield Flood on the Wikipedia Little Matlock Rolling Mill page.
Low Matlock and the other Loxley valley water power sites are now recognised for their heritage significance on the South Yorkshire Local Heritage List, following a successful submission by Friends of the Loxley Valley and other local groups in 2023.
Thank you!
We are indebted to many people and sources for their help in putting these water power pages together.
We would like to thank Tony Ball of the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society for his kind permission to reproduce images from their excellent book “Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers”. Much of the research for these pages is based on the authoritative water wheel histories in that book.
We would also like to thank Bradfield Parish Council and the Sheffield City Council North Local Area Committee for their generous funding of the interpretation signs and finger posts that we have put up along the valley.
