Chesterfield – Cannon Mill

I managed to stumble on this mill building (not literally) whilst meandering around Chesterfield, and it’s one of the oldest industrial buildings in the town. Formerly part of the Griffin Foundry of John & Ebenezer Smith & Co, it’s now standing looking a little redundant and not particularly in keeping with the local area.

Just to confuse matters, this building was constructed prior to 1788, but there’s a date of 1816 on the front and a cannon design. Apparently this relates to the period when the building was used as part of a cannon foundry, which was a key part of the site’s role as they made cannon balls and ordnance for the Napoleonic Wars. The site was later sold to Chesterfield Gas & Water Company and then there were numerous other owners, with nearly all the buildings on this site demolished except for this former mill.

An overshot iron water wheel (I copied that from the listed building record, I’m not a water wheel expert). The building was restored in 1957 and given the area is now being redeveloped for housing, another restoration is planned to ensure this piece of heritage remains intact.