Description and History of Site:-

George Ingle noted :-
1792 - Two small mills on Adel Beck used for cotton spinning and wool scribbling. 1808 cotton spinning frames for sale. Mills then had three water wheels - 37ft X 5ft, 21ft X 4ft, 20ft X 2ft. No further references to cotton spinning found

May not refer to Scotland Mill site but sites elsewhere on Adel BeckProbably called Scotland Mill after the nearby Scotland Wood. John Marshall acquired the lease on this former corn mill in 1788 for flax spinning. Matthew Murray, who came from Stockton in 1789, was employed at Scotland Mill by John Marshall and it was here that he made outstanding improvements to the machinery used in flax spinning. In 1791 John Marshall transferred his business to Holbeck, but there is every reason to believe that in the three years John Marshall was at Scotland Mill the inventions of Matthew Murray were of national, if not international, importance in the flax industry. The mill was later used for other purposes, such as a paper mill by John Moody Harrison in 1814 and then as a bleachworks and dyeworks. A filtration tank was constructed for the dyeworks a short distance downstream on the right hand side of the path in the Leeds direction. The main building was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1906, but the adjacent cottages were occupied for many years after the mill fell into disuse. The site of the mill, including six cottages, was bought by Leeds Corporation in 1963 from the late Sir G.W. Martin of Adel. Some fragments remain.

Further Reading and References:-

Hopwood, W A. ABbrief History of Meanwood, 1981, Manuscript copy in Leeds City Library.
Thompson, W J ed. A Brief Guide to the Industrial Heritage of West Yorkshire. AIA 1989
Ingle G, Yorkshire Cotton, 1997

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Key Words :- watermill corn textiles flax woollen

Address :- Adel, Leeds, West Yorkshire
Grid Ref :- SE 2853 3875
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.844215 , Long -1.567869
Local Authority :- Leeds Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site cleared - no above ground remains visible
Contributor :- John Suter - 1 December 2015

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © John Suter