OAKAMOOR TIMELINE
1087 Iron workings listed at East Wall Farm
1290 Iron mines and five Bloomery Forges already operating
1337 ‘Oak Wall Moor’ was mentioned, later Oakum Moor then Oakamoor.
1500 Bloomery Furnaces operating at East Wall Farm and Greendale.
1683 The Foley family owned forge hammers and a Slitting Mill at Oakamoor.
1710 The present sandstone River Bridge was built
1761 George Kendal became Ironmaster at Oakamoor, started Tin Rolling Mill.
1778 River Bridge widened to accommodate Turnpike traffic
1778 Present Weir and Sluice Gate probably built
1790 Thomas Patten buys Oakamoor Mills from the Foley family
1792 Patten builds a Brass Wire Mill
1808 Canal opens at Oakamoor
1809 First Steam Engine installed at Works
1832 Holy Trinity Church and Schoolroom in factory opened
1840 Houses in The Square were built for factory workers
1847 Railway opens, over the route of the canal which is backfilled.
1851 Patten family closed Oakamoor Mill and paid off the workforce.
1852 Bolton family bought Mill for £ 7750
1857 60 tons of wire drawn to make first transatlantic Telegraph Cable.
1858 First message transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean.
1871 The Mills School, now the Village Hall, opens.
1876 The Mills Chapel, now the Oakamoor Free Church, opens
1879 Oakamoor Brick Works and Old Lime Kilns listed on Ordnance Survey Map.
1892 The New School opens, this is the present Valley Primary School.
1897 Oakamoor Parish Council formed.
1914 Copper wire production at a high level for field telephones in WW1
1920-30 Boltons a world supplier of copper wire for telephones and electricity.
1939-1945 Military work for WW2
1945-1962 Production gradually declined, moved to Froghall.
1963 Copper Works finally demolished, railway closed by Dr. Beeching.