Former Paper Mill

The former paper mill, now used as a printing ink manufacturer's premises, likely dates to around 1840. The site has a history of milling activity, initially a corn mill since the 17th century, and a paper mill since 1703. It was probably constructed for James Annandale. The building is constructed of sandstone ashlar with quoins, and has a Welsh slate roof with yellow ridge tiles and stone gable copings. The plan is irregular. The south elevation, facing the lane, comprises three gabled blocks linked by a block with a hipped roof, with a lower block projecting forward to the right. The first gabled block, of three storeys and two bays, has its right bay obscured by the linking block. It features a fixed light of 3 rows of 4 panes to the left of the ground floor, and a 9-pane window above. The top floor has double-boarded, partly-glazed loading doors with pulley girders projecting above. Curved blocks support rectangular kneelers of coping with a panelled block finial. An adjoining two-storey, four-bay block to the right has 16-pane sashes on the first floor; the ground floor is partly obscured by a small, later addition to the left, and a long, one-storey range projecting forward to the right, with a hipped roof. This one-storey range has double-pitch roofs extending over low side sections; four windows with vertical glazing bars feature in the left return, with a shorter extension on the right return obscured by goods. A gabled addition sits to the right of the hipped-roofed part, and a two-storey, two-bay gabled block is partly obscured by the one-storey range. This latter block has blocked ground-floor windows, 16-pane sashes above with flat stone lintels and projecting stone sills, and a 12-pane sash in the gable peak, with similar treatment to the gable on the left. The interior was not inspected. The building is the only surviving paper mill on the River Derwent, an area once renowned for paper manufacturing, and was used to produce strong cartridge paper for ammunition.