EMBSAY with Eastby parish in the south of the National Park has a significant industrial heritage, with the Industrial Revolution resulting in several mills being built here.

One, Whitfield Syke Mill, owned by William Oldridge, had a long and varied history as a spinning mill, a ‘health resort’ and home to the Navvy Mission Society – until it was demolished and flooded by the construction of Embsay Reservoir.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park’s historic environment apprentice Hannah Kingsbury delved into the mill’s past.

Whitfield Syke Mill, fed from Whitfield Syke spring, was founded as a spinning mill in 1795 and was one of the first water driven textile mills in Craven.

In 1809, the mill was described as being three storeys high, powered by an 18 x 3 foot waterwheel. However, by 1821, it is recorded as being brick and slate, and four storeys high.

By 1828, the handloom weaving side of the business had been abandoned, with the mill concentrating solely on spinning. It was entirely water powered by 1833, with several small streams generating about three horse-power, and the use of mules for spinning weft.

At that time he employed 26 people, including 10 children and adolescents. The children included one boy under the age of 10, five children aged between 12 and 14, and four in their later teens.

The 11 adults included five men working on piece rate for an 11-and-a-half hour day, earning on average £1 11s 6d ( nearly £1.58) per week; seven men on a fixed weekly wage of 14s 6d (73p) a young man on a fixed weekly wage of 15s 6d (78p) per week; and three women earning just 6s 6d (18p) per week.

One report suggests part of the mill burnt down in 1837 and never fully functioned again, finally being demolished in 1903. However, there is no evidence to support the theory of major fire destruction. Instead it was expanded into a Lower and Higher Mill in the early to mid nineteenth century, and continued to spin cotton until the 1870s.

Six workers’ cottages had been constructed near to the mill by 1817. Despite the relatively low wages, it had far better working conditions in comparison to urban mills. The piece workers, however, could not rely on it for steady wages all year round, with the mill being heavily dependant upon the availability of water for power.

It is ironic to think it would eventually be demolished through a lack of water, to make way for a water supply.

It closed for economic reasons and has been reported as never being financially successful. This was particularly a problem in around 1850 when the mill suffered a setback when it was deprived of some of its water as a result of a legal action at York Assizes.

Following the closure of the mill, the mill buildings and the cottages fell into disrepair, until a Mr Parkinson bought the properties around 1892.

He demolished part, tidied the remainder, and converted the dwellings into ‘holiday homes’ for city and town residents seeking the fresh air of the Yorkshire Dales.

Visitors from Manchester, Bradford and Skipton came to recuperate . Tea parties are said to have been held there, as well as social gatherings and religious services.

In 1905, the main mill building was converted into accommodation for workmen for the construction of Embsay Moor Reservoir (1905-1910) and, as the project came to a close, the cottages and mill buildings were demolished.

During the reservoir’s construction the Navvy Mission Society was allowed to use the former warehouse as a centre for their work with the navvies – construction labourers – which they repaired to create a space that included a chapel and reading room.

The Mission Room was formally opened in 1906.

The Society was concerned about the welfare of the navvies, and particularly their families, due to their itinerant way of life.

After the Mission Society left the ex-mill site, members of the Wesleyan Chapel in Embsay continued to hold religious services in the former mission building.

Today, little remains of Whitfield Syke Mill. The site of the three mill dams, as well as parts of the mill cottages, can easily be traced within and outside the reservoir boundary wall.

Only the old warehouse, which was used by the Navvy Mission Society, remains standing and still survives to the present day.

A public right of way passes near the site, however the site itself is on private land.