Complex sentence: Historically the area formed part of the Lordship of Idle developing out of farming in the 17th century specialising in the tanning industry and in the 19th century developing sandstone quarrying and building mills for a local cotton industry.
Split into simpler sentences: Historically the area formed part of the Lordship of Idle. In the 17th century specialising in the tanning industry and in the 19th century developing sandstone quarrying and building mills for a local cotton industry.