Pleasley Vale Mills renowned for their haunting atmosphere,surrounded by ancient woodland and steeped in history, local legends and folklore were formally the thriving Coates Viyella factory.

It was William Hollins and four other established businessmen who decided that Pleasley Vale was a good place for a cotton mill. The textile industry was not yet established but the partnership knew that the industry was about to grow. The Vale was rich in resources, stone, timber, water and the river had already been dammed. There was a water wheel in place which was used to drive the bellows and steam hammer. Pleasley Vale had its own micro climate with constant humidity which was required to spin the cotton.

The grounds were excavated by the eighteenth century archaeologist Hayman Rooke in 1786 and Roman coins were found at Stuffyn Wood Farm which belonged to the Pleasley estate. In 1962 during the development of a garage to the rear of Pleasley house, a cave was exposed and inside was the bones of woolly rhinoceros and mammoth and other evidence of a prehistoric tribe. There has also been evidence of a Viking settlement in nearby Mansfield.