Sharrow Wheel was in use by cutlers by 1604, and was sometimes known as Bamforth Wheel, as it was leased to members of the Bamforth family from then until 1719. In the mid 1740s, Joseph Wilson enlarged the wheel, and in 1757 plans were drawn up for changes to the tail goit, which was carried under the river in a culvert, to rejoin the river further downstream. A snuff mill was erected in 1763, and the cutler wheel was not mentioned subsequently. The Wilson family bought the freehold from the Duke of Norfolk's estate in 1798, and have run the mill ever since. The water-powered snuff grinding equipment remains in place, although it is no longer used to grind snuff commercially.