Th´Owd Mill I´th Thrutch
Looking down on the site, you can see two stone arches across the river. These 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 it wearable it was finished through a process called fulling. This changed the weave from a very loose knit to a dense, closely 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 shown in the photograph. Heavy wooden hammers fell into the stone troughs you can still see today. They were driven by a huge waterwheel close to 10.5m in diameter. The wheel pit measures 1.5m wide by 9m long and can be seen set at a right angle to the entrance.
To the west of the three troughs were four arched stone sulphur stoves. Three are still evident, although their barrel-vaulted roofs have collapsed. Next to the roadway was a three storey warehouse and office.
Although little remains of Th'Owd Mill I'th Thrutch, the gullies and channels which once took water to the waterwheel are now an ideal home for the Dipper, who spends its time searching for food in the rocky waters where it wades, swims, and dives.
