Heritage
Calver was recorded in the Domesday Book 1086 AD as having a Weir on the present site.
Calver Mill and a small Weir were built in 1778 during the Industrial Revolution by John Pares and John Gardom, hosiers and yarn merchants who sought to licence new methods of cotton spinning from Richard Arkwright, Cromford Mill downstream on the River Derwent in Derbyshire.
The Derwent floods of 1799 swept away Calver Bridge and the Weir and in 1802, the Mill burnt down. Between 1799 and 1804 the family and business partners of the two John’s created a small industrial complex. They built the six storey Calver Mill: Calver Weir to hold back water: the Shuttle House which originally housed the sluice machinery to control the water: and a Goit, which channelled water to turn the Mill wheels which to powered the factory.
The Old School House was built in 1817 as a Sunday school, but after the 1833 Factory Act it became a day school for the children of the workers employed in the Mill.
Calver Weir was not a complete success so in the 1840’s the present Weir structure was built using gritstone from the local quarry. The Weir is some 106 metres in length and the struture is an unusual elongated reversed S formation which was designed to reduce the impact of strong flowing water. It holds back water to a level of 3.5 metres which created the unique wildlife habitat of Calver Marshes.
In 2004 emergency repairs were carried out to prevent its iminent collapse. Also that year, Calver Weir Restoration Project became a formal organisation and registered charity, bringing together local residents and interested parties who had been working to save the Weir for many years.
Calver Mill had a succession of owners and continued operating as a water-powered spinning mill until its closure in the early 1920’s. Since that time, it has been used as a canning factory, a storage depot during the second World War and as a manufacturer of stainless steel sinks. In the 1960’s it was portrayed as Colditz Castle in a television series. However, it continued to fall into disrepair and in 2000 it was acquired by developers and converted to private apartments; the powerhouse is still maintained in working order.
