Shaw Mills: what to know before moving day
The name probably comes from a corn mill kept by a Robert Shaw in the 16th century. In 1812 the Metcalfes began spinning flax at the Low Mill; the High and Low Mills closed by 1861, reopened about 1890 for silk, and shut soon after the First World War. Two of the workers' cottages survive as Mill Cottages, a listed pair, beside Mill House, a 17th-century house rebuilt in the 19th.
The former Nelson Arms, an 18th-century pub, is now a private house, and Thornton Grange dates from 1726. Town Street, Grange Close and Low Mill Court are the village streets, with High Mill, Hardgate and Hill Top as outlying groups of farms. Old stone cottages of this kind can have small doors and steep stairs, so measure before booking large pieces.
How the van gets to Shaw Mills
Pye Lane leaves the B6165 at Burnt Yates and runs north to Shaw Mills, crossing Thornton Beck on a single-arch stone bridge of the early 19th century. Mill Bank carries on towards Bishop Thornton, and Law Lane links back to the B6165 at Whipley Bank near Bedlam. From Harrogate the van goes by the A61 to Ripley and then the B6165.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 45 to 60 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Shaw Mills
Each service below links to its Harrogate page, which covers how the job works in and around Harrogate.
Shaw Mills: questions before you book
Is Shaw Mills its own parish?
No. Shaw Mills is part of the civil parish of Bishop Thornton, and since 2019 the parish council has been called Bishop Thornton, Shaw Mills and Warsill. Nearby postcodes fall in three parishes, so give the full postcode, such as HG3 3HR.
Nearby areas
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): HG3 3HR is in Masham & Fountains ward, parish of Bishop Thornton, Shaw Mills and Warsill; nearby postcodes fall in Clint cum Hamlets and Hartwith cum Winsley as well
- Shaw Mills (Wikipedia): hamlet in Bishop Thornton parish, valley of Thornton Beck, name from Robert Shaw's corn mill, flax spinning from 1812, High and Low Mills closed by 1861, silk from about 1890, closed after the First World War, 19th-century industrial settlement
- Bishop Thornton (Wikipedia): parish includes Shaw Mills; parish council renamed Bishop Thornton, Shaw Mills and Warsill in 2019
- Listed buildings (Wikipedia, from the National Heritage List for England): Mill House, Mill Cottages, former Nelson Arms, Thornton Grange 1726
- Listed buildings in Clint cum Hamlets (Wikipedia): bridge over Thornton Beck carrying Pye Lane, early to mid 19th century, single arch
- OpenStreetMap map view (checked 2026-09-28): Pye Lane from the B6165, Mill Bank, Law Lane to Whipley Bank (B6165), Town Street, Grange Close, Low Mill Court, High Mill, Hardgate and Hill Top hamlet points