Although possibly the mill mentioned in a 1383 valuation in the phrase "At Wordesend a water mill very old and ruinous, worth nothing yearly" (Miller 1949, 12) then first definite reference to this site is contained within a survey of 1671 (Crossley et al 1989, 9) where it is listed as a tan yard (it is still shown as such on the 1851 OS first edition). In Millers account of the mill (1949, 12) the original site of the mill buildings was demolished in order to construct the Manchester to Sheffield line which now bisects this polygon. The new mill buildings (shown 1851- 1938) were constructed to the west of the embankment - only two cottages remain from the complex now numbers 1-2 Herries Road (Wardsend Cottages). The water was carried from the dam to the mill in a culvert beneath the embankment. The tail goit from the mill is extant to the south. The dam, surrounded by secondary semi natural woodland, is in good condition, being maintained as a fishing lake. Mill has been used of bark milling (tanning), edge tool grinding and corn milling. Unknown legibility of earlier landscape characters.