Ruins of Staups Mill, Blackshawhead

 Built as a cotton mill in the mid to late 18th century, Staups Mill was originally known as Starling Mill and built alongside the then Blackshawhead Clough which was used to power it. Blackshawhead Clough was at the time of building of the mill the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire, it has become known more commonly as Jumble Hole Clough. The mill was largely damaged when a dam collapsed and caused water to rush down Jumble Hole Clough on the 24 September 1896 and there the story seems to end, other than the ruins that now remain.

I visited the area on the 4 May 2022, the path that passes the mill has had some trees put alongside it to prevent access to the mill area and signs have been erected warning of no access and private property. I can only assume this is because of what appears to be the unsafe nature of the remains of the building, I made no attempts to go anywhere near the building with that in mind as I was out to explore not upset the land owner. It was a shame as I would have liked to have pictured the mill from the other side where Jumble Hole Clough flows towards it.

A couple of things that struck me when I was heading back down the valley towards Hebden Bridge, why would you have ever built a mill there, I realise the water flow helps power the mill but it's a fair distance up or down the valley to nearby settlements for workers and access for transporting goods. The second thought i had was it must have been pretty bleak heading to and from work in the 18th and 19th centuries during the winter months.

There are a total of 9 pictures to see around the mill area, they were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR.

Jumble Hole Clough flowing past Staups Mill, this was as close as I got to the
ruins and due to careful camera cropping it looks a lot closer than it was.

I thought this picture had a similar look to the ones of the Amityville House,
with the 2 windows like eyes at the top.

One of the streams flowing off the surrounding moors and fields into
Jumble Hole Clough, at one time this would have been me stood in
Lancashire looking across to Yorkshire.

The path away from the mill towards Blackshawhead.

I have recently been made aware that the remains of Staups Mill have been demolished.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap.

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Top of Eastwood and Staups Lanes, Blackshaw Head.

 A small set of picture taken earlier today around the Eastwood Lane, Staups Lane area of Blackshaw Head, Hebden Bridge. I was here on a walk towards Staups Mill near the top of Jumble Hole Clough, having walked up Eastwood lane from the site of the former railway station that served the area until closure in December 1951, when I reached the top of Eastwood Lane at the junction with Staups Lane and Eastwood Road I was greeted by a Rock Formation as seen below.

Great Rock

Great Rock is a natural rock made from Kinderscout Grit, a form of Millstone Grit on the edge of Staups Moor. Their are many a local legend regards the rock but the one I know best is the one that gives the rock the name Devil's Rock. The Devil bet with God that he could step across the valley from Stoodley Pike to Great Rock, despite his failure to make the it, legend says you can see his hoof print upon the rock.

The following pictures were taken along Staups Lane before i took the path down to Jumble Hole Clough.

The last picture was taken at the top of Jumble Hole Clough before heading down to find Staups Mill, the purpose of my visit. The stream would have powered the mill and eventually flows in to the River Calder at the valley bottom.

The pictures were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on the 4th May 2022, they can also be seen on my Clickasnap account, click any image to view the un-watermarked, higher resolution version in another window.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green