Samuel Oldknow
Samuel Oldknow came to this district in 1787 and remained for over 40 years, until his death at the age of 72. During this time he changed the face of Marple beyond all recognition, being the chief architect and driving force in the development and industrialisation of the area. Along with his mill at Mellor he was responsible for the building of roads, bridges, coal mines and housing for his workers. He was also instrumental in the construction of the Peak Forest Canal. A monument to him, placed in the Church he built to replace the old Chapel that had become too small for the expanding community, gives a clear indication of his standing and influence.
If you'd walked the hills of Mellor 200 years ago and followed the line of Marple's brand new Peak Forest Canal with your eye, you'd have been amazed to discover an ancient medieval castle with tall chimneys churning out great clouds of smoke into the sky. The area would have been a hive of industry, with people scurrying to and fro, canal barges loading and offloading, horse drawn carts arriving and departing from covered despatch buildings and wagons on rails being pulled by mules.
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The free-standing tower in the grounds of All Saints' churchyard was once part of a Georgian Chapel, built to replace an earlier 16th century black and white timber-framed chapel that had blown down during a gale in 1804. Plans had been in place as early as 1803 to replace the old building, which was in a ruinous and dangerous condition, although work didn't start until 1808.
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