Carding Mill

In 1824 George Corfield bought the mill and expanded; he built a factory. By this time the Spinning Jenny and Hand Loom had been invented, and the cottage industry was disappearing. A group called The Luddites used to travel round and smash up machinery in a bid to save it. George Corfield installed Spinning Jennies and Hand Looms into his factory and became a cloth manufacturer. It was a small- scale business because the heart of the woollen industry was in the north of England. By 1851 business had become a bit slack, so it was decided that the company should go into the clothing industry, employing two sewers and two dressmakers. This did not save the business that still remains slack, so after working on a reduced scale it was decided that diversification was the answer.

By 1881 part of the factory was used for ginger beer and soda water manufacture, and another part was used as a tearoom. It was the Victorian age, and a lot of people had newfound wealth, which meant they also had an increased amount of leisure.

In 1902 the reservoir was created to provide a better water supply to the growing spa town of Church Stretton, which was known as "Little Switzerland".

In 1912 the old mill was demolished and the factory turned into a hotel and café.

This is a picture of Carding Mill (now)

This is a picture of the shop (on the left) and the tearoom (on the left) (now)