Iron Masters of the Derwent Valley
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Winlaton, first of the Crowley iron villages , 1691 - 1815
The village of Winlaton is an ancient one. It is perched at the top of a hill overlooking the rivers Tyne and Derwent. The Manor house of Winlaton was located at Hall Garth on the north side of the village. It can be safely assumed that the village was a small one until the arrival of Ambrose Crowley in the 1680's. He chose Winlaton as his centre for nailmaking after trying to start his business in the coastal town of Sunderland on the banks of the Wear. It was the expanding Naval fleet and the need for nails of various sizes which prompted this son of a Stourbridge ironmaster to come north to set up his own business to supply this growing lucrative need.