I kept looking at the ‘Near Wirksworth’ picture painted on a saucer and putting it to the bottom of the pile. I thought I would never find the location. It has a building on it with tall chimneys, a hill and a road. Two men walking along it have stopped for a chat. They look like workers. Could it be a mill ?
I’m not familiar with Wirksworth. Every year I say I will go to the Wirksworth Festival and every year something stops me. Not this year though. My friend Paula McCann is exhibiting there next weekend so I’m going on the 7th September.
I can’t wait that long to find this building though. Time is of the essence as I’m already two thirds through my residency.
I do an internet search for 18th Century mills in Wirksworth, then an image search. Hey presto! I can barely believe my luck. It is still standing.
Haarlem Mill was built for spinning cotton by Richard Arkwright between 1777-1780. It may be the earliest factory to house a steam engine. Later, it was to become George Elliot’s inspiration for ‘The Mill on the Floss’.
An hour later and I’m standing outside the Grade II listed building grinning like a Cheshire cat. I check from picture to view and back again. Yes, it is the one. This project should carry a health warning. I’m completely addicted to finding more places !
There’s a mystery though. The mill house that stands alongside wasn’t built until 1858 according to English Heritage and yet it appears to be part of the picture Jockey Hill painted. I would like to dig deeper into this intrigue but time doesn’t allow for it at the moment.
Also, a notable difference is the height of the road. It’s much higher than in the picture. I suppose being on the main Derby to Wirksworth road it has been re-surfaced many times in the past 200 years. I remember seeing a picture of the historic Bromley House Library on Angel Row in Nottingam when it was built in 1752. It had five steps then and now it has two. It’s a strange thought that roads and pavement heights are slowly increasing around us.
Enough of this dreaming, I have a film to make.
Oh, and being very committed to my art and gaining the full ‘landscape’ experience, I have agreed to sleep in a Bower in a wood for the night…
