14/06/2026
This week we have been doing talks in the community. So today is a related image of Charlestown.
Charlestown was named after Charles Hadfield of Lees Hall. He was a yeoman and farmer. In 1792 he built a mill between Chunal and Hollincross Lane in Whitfield. When he died a few years later in 1795, at the age of 60, his Will instructed that the mill should be leased. Robert Thornley, a hatter and his nephews, Robert and John Thornley, cotton manufacturers leased the mill for 21 years.
After Charles’ death, his son Joseph took over farming at Lees Hall. Joseph married Mary Ellison, the daughter of Matthew Ellison the Duke of Norfolk’s Steward. One of their sons was the architect Matthew Ellison Hadfield.
By the late 1820s the mill was occupied by the Kershaw family and it was referred to as Charlestown in the trade directories. At this time, the mill was used for cotton spinning. By the 1840s the mill was being run by George Fox and was used for paper making.
In 1869 Charlestown Mill and the surrounding houses were sold to John Walton and he turned them into a bleachworks. You can find more about the history of John Walton and the Charlestown Works on our website https://glossopheritage.co.uk/ghtarchive/jwalton/
