8. Step back into the Staffordshire Moorlands’ Industrial Past

The Staffordshire Moorlands has a rich and varied industrial past rooted in the area’s outstanding natural resources and landscape. 

Today the hills and valleys are no longer thrumming with industry nor the towns filled with clatter from the factories. However, its industrial heritage remains visible in the Moorlands’ mill buildings, canal systems, local museums, its former railway tracks and town heritage trails.

Let’s take a trip to explore the area’s history

We start our journey at the industrial heritage village of Froghall, where you’ll discover the end to the historic Caldon Canal, reputed to be one of the most interesting waterways in the country.

The Caldon Canal, opened in 1779, stretches for 18 miles from Froghall Wharf to Etruria in Stoke-on-Trent and was vital for transporting limestone and coal from the Moorlands to the Potteries and beyond. The gritstone and sandstone of the Moorlands were widely quarried from Waterhouses to Froghall to Cauldon Lowe - all centres of stone quarrying and lime production. Parts of the Moorlands, particularly in the Churnet Valley, were rich in coal and ironstone. Mining activity peaked during the 19th century, fuelling local industries and transport infrastructure.

Froghall was at the heart of this - a thriving industrial transport hub, equipped with lime kilns, warehousing and a meeting point for both the canal and railway networks. The North Staffordshire Railway (the Knotty) also linked the Moorlands to Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester, supporting the area’s industrial growth.

There were four tramroads built to connect the Caldon Canal at Froghall to the limestone quarries at Cauldon Lowe. The first opened in 1778 and was followed by improved routes in 1783 and 1802 and finally in 1847 by a cable and gravity operated line. The system closed in 1920. The wharf was once the busy loading point for limestone brought down the tramways from the quarries at Cauldon Lowe. There are Grade II listed Lime Kilns on the site and other remnants of the industrial past can be found in the wooded valley beyond. Don’t miss a visit to the Visitor Centre, which was once the stables for the horses that worked the site.

The length of the canal is steeped in history, with fascinating industrial buildings, locks, bridges and other structures visible along the way - including the unusually low Froghall Tunnel, a challenge for boaters. Once a hive of industrial activity, the old canal-side towpaths with their outstanding scenery are now ideal for a quiet exploration of the Churnet Valley for walkers and cyclists.

Alternatively, do the canal in style and recreate the past by taking a boat trip down the meandering waterways from Froghall Basin.

After all that historical delving, stop for coffee and cake at Hetty’s Tea Shop in the restored Grade II listed 200-year-old former warehouse.

The Churnet Valley Railway offers an evocative option for those looking to journey into the valley’s industrial past, by enjoying a nostalgic steam train ride through beautiful scenery. You will be taken from Froghall to Consall, and onto Cheddleton, where you will find the historic Cheddleton Flint Mill. The line continues onto Leekbrook and on selected days, travels onwards to Ipstones Edge.

Continue your tour into the Manifold Valley

The Staffordshire Moorlands is a land of hills and valleys, dales and woodland that shaped its industrial past. Trails and greenways along disused train lines are its legacy today and they can be found in abundance across the Peak District. The Manifold Trail follows the old route of the disused Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway, through the Manifold and Hamps Valleys, from Waterhouses to Hulme End.

From 1904 until 1934, this narrow-gauge railway followed the river gorges for nearly 9 miles, serving the tiny farming communities, bringing in tourists and transporting milk and cheese from the isolated dairy at Ecton.

The level and surfaced track is mostly car-free and shared by walkers, cyclists and pony trekkers.

The former Waterhouses railway station was the terminus of two separate railway lines: the North Staffordshire Railway and the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway.

Here you can also find Brown End Quarry - a small but dramatic former limestone quarry, which is now a nature reserve.

Brown End was quarried for limestone from the 18th Century until 1950. For much of this period the stone was dug by hand and typical production in the late 1940's was about 5,000 tonnes a year.

Brown End Quarry is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because it demonstrates a particular type of limestone not seen in many locations in the Peak District. Much of the Peak District limestone is very coarse grained and was laid down in shallow, fast-moving waters. The limestone at Brown End (known as Milldale limestone) was deposited in still water at depths of around 300m. The rocks are therefore more finely grained with varying amounts of crinoid debris.

Further along the track at Ecton, more of the Staffordshire Moorlands industrial heritage can be uncovered at the historic mining area of Ecton Copper Mines.  Dating from the Bronze Age, the copper and lead deposits on Ecton Hill were worked for over 3,500 years until 1891. These mines were once the deepest in England and a source of great wealth for the Dukes of Devonshire – samples of the copper and zinc ores from Ecton Mine can be found at locations such as Chatsworth House and the British Museum in London. The whole area is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and the Ecton mine itself is an underground SSSI.

Swainsley Tunnel is a unique feature in the Manifold Valley, constructed to avoid spoiling the view from the nearby Swainsley Hall – as insisted by Sir Thomas Wardle, a director of the railway.

Hulme End is where you will find the Tea Junction tea rooms, housed in a former engine shed. The Information Point is in the former ticket office and inside you will find a scale model of the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway.

A perfect spot for lunch.

Traverse the moorlands to Leek and Rudyard Lake

Just a few miles from Hulme End is the historic market town of Leek, which became a prominent centre of the silk textiles industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, with numerous silk mills and dye houses. It became a key textile town - due in part to the River Churnet’s soft water, which was ideal for this process.

The Wardle family, notably Thomas Wardle, played a significant role in pioneering dye techniques and linking with figures like William Morris.

Leek’s pre-eminence in silk-weaving and silk-dyeing was boosted in the mid 18^th century by improved communications from the newly turnpiked roads, followed by the building of the new branch of the Caldon Canal. This gave easy access to the quantities of fuel from the Potteries to drive new, steam-powered silk mills. By the mid-20th century, many of these industries had declined due to global competition and technological change and now many of the former mills have been converted into apartments and retail outlets.

When in Leek, do celebrate the work of James Brindley, the renowned millwright and canal engineer, who pioneered the canal system in Great Britain. During his life Brindley built 365 miles of canals and numerous watermills. He also constructed the watermill at Leek, now the Brindley‘s Mill and the James Brindley Museum. The working cornmill dates from 1752 and clearly illustrates James Brindley's skill as a designer and builder. The mill building houses a small museum with interpretive panels and artefacts. 

And when it comes to wining and dining – take your pick from a tempting selection of traditional style tearooms to modern coffee houses to real ale pubs and more. The town is also home to speciality food and drink producers and the Potteries traditional Staffordshire Oatcake. Delicious local produce can be found in abundance at traditional butchers, bakers, greengrocers, delicatessens, and award-winning cafes.

A 10-minute drive north of Leek brings you to Rudyard Lake, a man-made reservoir, built in 1797 as an additional feeder to the Caldon Canal. Known as the ‘Blackpool of the Potteries’ Rudyard offered ordinary folk a wealth of distractions away from their everyday lives.

This is the place where Rudyard Kipling’s parents first met, where Captain Webb, the first English Channel swimmer came to demonstrate his skills and where The African Blondin (Carlos Trower) appeared several times amazing the crowds 30m above the lake on a tightrope.

Today Rudyard Lake is a glorious place to spend an afternoon, either to stroll its circumference, eat at the former North Staffordshire Railway’s Hotel or to enjoy the lakes activities; miniature steam railway, paddleboarding and rowing boat hire.

The Caldon Canal in the Churnet Valley was once a hive of industrial activity and now offers a serene route through the heart of the valley, with historical references embedded in the landscape, such as the Cherry Eye bridge - named after the colour of miners’ eyes!

Along the way are traces of history such as the lime kilns at Froghall Wharf, a short distance from the former Thomas Bolton copperworks, famous for manufacturing the world’s first transatlantic telegraph cables at its works in Froghall and Oakamoor, with copper mined in the Manifold Valley at the renowned Ecton copper mines.

Looking back to the start of industrialisation, Brindley’s Mill and the James Brindley Museum celebrates the renowned millwright and canal engineer who pioneered the canal system in Britain, forming the arteries of trade for the industrial revolution.

And stepping back in time even further, Cheddleton Flint Mill is believed to have been the site of a water mill since the Middle Ages. The site includes a corn mill and a purpose-built mill used to grind flint for use in the pottery industry. The mill race takes water from the River Churnet and is adjacent to the Caldon Canal.

Quarrying and aggregate extraction activities continue in some areas of the Staffordshire Moorlands to this day, and sites no longer in use are carefully restored to create nature reserves and other green spaces.

Much of the industrial heritage and wider cultural history of the Staffordshire Moorlands is recorded at the Nicholson Museum* in Leek. Items include the work of Leek Embroidery Society, known for creating a replica of the Bayeux Tapestry and silk moths gifted by textile manufacturer Thomas Wardle – who worked closely with famed designer William Morris. (*Currently closed for refurbishment).

From ancient landmarks to industrial innovation, the history of the Staffordshire Moorlands is embedded in its landscape, communities and people, ready to be discovered by visitors of all ages.