Th'Owd Mill I'Thrutch

Looking down on the site, you will see one of until recently two stone arches across the river. The second arch having been swept away by flood water.

These arches supported the external walls of a two storey perching room. This was a Fulling Mill, built in 1676 and owned by the Chadwick family until the late 19th Century. It was sited here because the early Industrial Revolution was water powered. The cloth being manufactured was woollen, and not cotton at all. In order to make wearable it was finished through a process called fulling. This changed the weave very loose knit to a dense, loosely woven material.

Originally the cloth was soaked in a concoction of water. stale urine, soapwort, and Fullers Earth. Workers pounded it by foot; just like treading grapes. In 1863 the process became mechanised using steam power, when a boiler house and chimney were built. The steam powered engine was not efficient, and in 1865 only provided 2 horsepower, rising to 9 by 1880. So water was the main driving force for the Mill, powering the fulling stocks

Created: 7  April  2019  Edited: 29  November  2023