Mill leat

[elm]

Today we discovered an old mill leat running across an otherwise inaccessable part of our land, very exciting! The banks are about three or four feet high and built of earth and stone, and it runs for about 100 yards from the main stream and stops just to the side of what I'm now thinking may be the remains of a small mill of some sort in the corner of the yard. The last thirty yards are dry as the water has been diverted at some point to run on down behind the house. We noticed there was very little water in it - further inspection revealed that all it was receiving was the overflow from the spring that supplies the house, and the inlet from the main stream was clogged up. Now duly unblocked and flowing freely! Off to do some finding out about mills .....

 

[Nemesis]

Gareth Hughes

SPAB Mills Section.

 

[Lime]

Are you soon to be self-sufficient in electricity?

 

[Mark]

Gareth Hughes

SPAB Mills Section.

He has a mill as well as a moat ?

I can feel myself going green.... And not with renewable energy...

 

[Nemesis]

Not sure Gareth has a moat - but as chair of SPAB Mills Section he knows a great deal about mills!

PS Gareth Hughes is not to be confused with Graham Skier Hughes - who has a moat and a strange hole in his kitchen.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Today we discovered an old mill leat running across an otherwise inaccessable part of our land, very exciting! The banks are about three or four feet high and built of earth and stone, and it runs for about 100 yards from the main stream and stops just to the side of what I'm now thinking may be the remains of a small mill of some sort in the corner of the yard. The last thirty yards are dry as the water has been diverted at some point to run on down behind the house. We noticed there was very little water in it - further inspection revealed that all it was receiving was the overflow from the spring that supplies the house, and the inlet from the main stream was clogged up. Now duly unblocked and flowing freely! Off to do some finding out about mills .....

Welsh Mills Society:
http://www.rcahmw.org.uk/wms/
SPAB Mills Section:
http://www.spab.org.uk/mills

 

[elm]

Thanks for those pointers. Unfortunately there is very little left of the building at the end of the leat:


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[Open Image] [Hosted by PhotoGalaxy.com]

Single storey and only about six or seven feet wide, can't tell how long originally as oil tank and 70's extension there now. The wall end to the right of the first picture I think must be one side of a doorway. Certainly nothing left of any wheel or machinery. Someone was telling us today that most of the little farms in this parish ran small mills at one time. Interestingly there are the remains of a medieval corn drying kiln within quarter of a mile of here, on a farm originally associated with this place, although I can't imagine it would be that old.