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Originally New Mills district was in the Royal Forest of the Peak and was part of an area called Bowden Middlecale. It was made up of ten hamlets and four of these - Beard, Ollersett, Thornsett and Whitle - gradually became linked to form the area now known as New Mills. The town takes its name from a medieval corn mill called Beard Mill which was located near the site of the present Salem Mill.

In 1991, 600 local school children planted 600 oak saplings to commemorate the first known mention of the “New Mills” in 1391. By the late sixteenth century the name New Mill was in use as a place name for the immediate vicinity of the mill and evolved to New Mills in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The district was characterised by small farms whose farmers often pursued other occupations in addition to agriculture, and this rural dimension remained a characteristic of the town until well into the twentieth century. By the 1890s and 1900s the centre of New Mills had developed the physical shape which it largely retains to this day. It had its own music hall, one of the earliest cinemas in the country and a busy shopping centre which made the town a focal point for people from surrounding districts during the interwar years.

New Mills was once a ‘stronghold’ of Methodism, but there was a significant Anglican community and Catholic population and a Congregational Church. The first Co-operative Society in North-West Derbyshire was established in New Mills in 1860 and the Co-op played a significant part in local life until the 1950s and still has two significant stores in the town today. The main employment was in textiles, but the railways brought newcomers to the town as did printing and engraving.

Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this publication and the statements contained herein are believed to be correct, the publishers and promoters cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies. Reproduction of any part of this publication in any format, without permission, is strictly forbidden. Photographs courtesy of Stephen Lewis, Andrew Truman and Councillor Martin Doughty.