River Dale House And River Dale Cottages

River Dale House and River Dale Cottages is a terrace of houses with an attached outbuilding, dating from around 1800 or earlier, with alterations made in the mid to late 19th century and early 20th century. The buildings are constructed of coursed rubble sandstone, rendered on the front elevation, and feature brick ridge and gable stacks with Welsh slate roofs. The linear stepped range is aligned east-west, consisting of a two-storey stable with an overloft at the west end and a taller dwelling at the east end.

The front elevation is two storeys high with attics and has an eight-bay range. The center features two double-fronted houses, while the taller house at the east end has a doorway on the left side and a canted bay window on the right. The upper floor has coupled sash windows without glazing bars above the canted bay, and single sash windows on both floors above the door. The center houses have three-light casement windows, and to the right of the door of the right-hand house is a square bay window with sashes. The former stable at the west end has quoined corners and a massive surround with bonding stones for the main doorway, along with a taking-in door above.

Inside, the east end house was remodeled around 1900, featuring contemporary hearth surrounds, doors, and panelling. The other two dwellings are simply detailed, with plain hearth surrounds and central dog-leg stairs.

Historically, these houses provided accommodation for workers and the site manager of the nearby water-powered rolling mill, which was destroyed by the Sheffield Flood of 1864 when a reservoir dam failed at the head of the Loxley Valley. River Dale House and River Dale Cottages survived the disaster due to their location on higher ground. This terrace of early 19th-century houses is part of the setting of the Low Matlock Rolling Mill and represents a significant aspect of a small rural industrial community in the Loxley Valley, an important area for the development of Sheffield's water-powered metalworking industries in the 19th century.