
About
Welcome to Milford and Makeney, two of the key communities within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
It was in Milford that Jedediah Strutt and his sons expanded the cotton spinning business they had started in Belper, and by building and buying homes and facilities for their workers created one of the world’s first industrial communities.
From 1781 when Jedediah Strutt began building in the ancient hamlet of New Mills, life here mainly centred on the textile industry. Even today, most buildings in Milford and the neighbouring hamlet of Makeney are linked with the area’s industrial development, and help tell the story of the workers who lived in the shadow of the mills.
In 2001, the universal significance of the textile mills beside the River Derwent was recognised when the stretch of the valley between Matlock Bath and Derby was designated a World Heritage Site.
This leaflet gives you three options for short walks looking at some of the most significant sites in Milford and Makeney. The starting point for each walk is the interpretation board, at the end of Chevin Road opposite the Strutt Arms on the A6, which will tell you more about this industrial community, and show you how it has changed in the past two centuries.