 Until McConnel's period of ownership the village did not exist beyond a collection of buildings in the immediate vicinity of the mill.When McConnel's workforce objected to the quality of the housing available he took it upon himself to build the model village that became Cressbrook.Building started in the late 1830s and was later extended by Henry McConnel's daughter, Mary Worthington, in 1902 to include a village club, modelled on a working men's club.