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| Grade II* listed Gayle Mill was built around 1776 in the first years of mechanised cotton production as a waterwheel-powered cotton mill. For the first 80 years the mill, built and owned by the Rouths, a wealthy local family, was also used for processing flax and wool. The mill fell into disuse for decades and was reborn as a sawmill c.1880. |  Gayle Mill
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The mill changed hands several times in the twentieth century finally ending its days as a working mill in the hands of the Anderson family in 1988.
Now designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument the mill retains much of its original machinery. Of special note are the mill's electrical generating system, wood working machinery and the Williamson turbine, which replaced the waterwheel in 1879 and is reputedly the oldest working in situ turbine of its kind. The mill is currently enjoying an ongoing process of restoration.
Hawes is a thriving town set at the head of Wensleydale. A rural community surrounded by high bare moorland and the lush green of the lower slopes, Hawes is probably most famous for its association with Wensleydale cheese, though the town has also been a centre for rope production, and during the 18th century was a prosperous trading centre.
It is thought that cheese-making skills were first brought to the Dale by French monks in around 1145. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the skills would have been passed down to local farmers and finally became industrialised at the Hawes factory in the 19th century.
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