| Administrative History | The Evans family were originally from Bonsall and gained their wealth from leadmining. Thomas Evans of Derby (1723-1814) had a variety of Derby business interests, and established the bank Crompton and Evans. His son William married Jedidiah Strutt's daugher, Elizabeth, and settled at Darley House in Darley Abbey, playing a major part in developing the family's cotton spinning mill interests there. Little is known about the first mill built at Darley Abbey by the Evans family; it burnt down in 1788 after being in operation for barely a year, and was replaced by a similar structure, known as the Long Mill, which remains today. The mill was extended between 1795 and 1805.
After William's death, Elizabeth married his half-brother Walter Evans (1764-1839) in 1798. It was Walter who spearheaded a major expansion of the mills at Darley Abbey between 1818 and 1821. By the end of this expansion, the mills employed over 500 people. After his death, the business was inherited by Walter's nephews William and Samuel, with Samuel Evans living in Darley Hall and running the paper and cotton mill businesses. The Evans' used their family coat of arms as the inspiration for their brand name, Boar's Head, and the cotton mills at Darley Abbey were known as the Boar's Head Mill or Boar's Head Manufactory.
After Samuel's death in 1874, his eldest son Walter (1826-1903) took over. After Walter's death, the manager, John Peacock, purchased the mills. The firm was incorporated as Walter Evans & Co Ltd in 1905; in 1908 it converted to a private company. John Peacock continued managing the company until 1943, when the company was taken over by J & P Coats Ltd, with Kerr & Co Ltd, cotton manufacturers and selling agents of Paisley becoming the majority shareholder. By 1969, the mills had ceased producing cotton and the buildings were sold off. Walter Evans & Co dissolved sometime in the 2000s. |
| Custodial History | These records were transferred from Derby Local Studies Library in March 2000. They were formerly numbered DL119. D5231/8/1 was donated to the Record Office in June 2014. |