Local Industries

Industrial activities that have shaped the village and its people

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  • Limestone Quarrying

    Quarrying

    Limestone has been quarried in Stoney Middleton dale for centuries, a principle industry and employer during the last century. Thousands of tons of rock have been removed to produce vital minerals and metals and to simply provide stone for construction.The village had many quarries along The Dale, spreading from Darlton quarry (opposite Lovers Leap Garage)… Learn more

  • New Image Hanging Flat Fluorspar Mine Stoney Middleton

    Village website prompts enthusiast to provide, not seen before image and brief story of former Tessadale Ltd mine. Adrian Foster contacted the heritage group looking for more information about the mine which had intrigued him. However, we had no information about this mine and are very grateful to him for the information. He came across… Learn more

  • Paint Mill – processing Barytes

    The Dale Rock Mill

    The lead mining industry in Derbyshire declined in the late 18th century. However the discovery of other minerals found within the land, and spoil heaps from earlier miners, provided a new lease of life for Stoney Middleton Dale. Stoney Middleton Dale (across the road from Castle Rock) is the former site of the Paint Mill and latterly… Learn more

  • Two of Laporte’s 5 tonne Clayton battery locomotives, with headlamps blazing, outside the Sallet Hole mine entrance on 5th July 1980

    Sallet Hole Mine

    The attached photograph kindly provided by Adrian foster provides an informative image of the railway system used to transport minerals from the mine.   Sallet Hole Mine is a 19th-century fluorspar mine in the centre of Coombs Dale, which closed in 1998. In our post “Fluorspar Production” we provide a link to an article “Fluorspar… Learn more

  • William Anthony Lennon – Founder of Wm. Lennon & Co Ltd

    William Anthony Lennon

    The only remaining heavy duty safety footwear manufacturer in the UK is Wm Lennon & Co Ltd based in Stoney Middleton. The company was founded in  1899 by William Anthony Lennon (1873-1940). William was born in 1873 at 53, Caton Street, Hulme, Chorlton, Manchester, the second of four children born to William Nelson and Hannah Gibson Lennon. When William was 11… Learn more