Milford

Milford was once a quiet hamlet in a part of the large deer forest that spread from Duffield to Wirksworth, until Jedediah Strutt set up a water powered cotton mill here and built housing for his workforce.

Some of the housing still remains in Hopping Hill but much of the mill building was demolished between 1952 and 1964, including the cruciform warehouse of 1793, the second of Strutt's fire proof bulidings with brick arch floors, timber beams and iron pillers. The bridge, with its two segmental arches was built around 1790 but widened in 1906 and is still carrying heavy traffic. The area is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. There are five public houses in Milford and Makeney providing catering and toilet facilities.