14/08/2026
The millstone is an iconic symbol of the Peak District; so much so that ornamental versions grace pretty much every road into the national park. There is evidence of quarrying for millstones in this area since 1257, and they were produced for many centuries afterwards. This lovely collection rests amid the bracken in the gritstone foothills of Stanage Edge, with a view over to the hills of the Hope Valley, glowing golden in the last light of yet another sunny day.
🌾 Millstones were predominantly used for grinding grain into flour, in the water, wind and steam mills of the area.
⛏️ Most millstones were quarried by hand! This involved hand-drilling a hole in the rock, inserting metal plates into it, and then driving wedges between the plates to split the rock. A typical two-man team would only have been able to quarry around 20 stones per year.
⛰️ The best type of stone for making millstones was coarse and rough, to create the necessary friction to grind the grain. Gritstone is perfect for this, and ‘millstone grit’ is an integral part of the geology of this area.
🌿 The industry died out quickly in the 18th Century, partly because of increased mechanisation in the mills. Many of the half-finished stones were simply abandoned on the moors - and still wait there today, half-hidden in the bracken. There are around 1,500 scattered throughout the Peak District.
📍 Peak District, England
