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.

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 built the six storey Calver Mill, Calver Weir, the Shuttle House and Goit. Calver Weir was not a complete success so in the 1840’s the present structure was built.

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 then, 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. In 2000 a conversion to private apartments was completed, but the powerhouse is still maintained in working order.