The Next big job! 2001

The mill is more or less ready to turn. All we need is water.

Originally the River Arth was dammed by a weir some 800 yards up stream from the mill. This fed a leat which flowed gently downhill whilst the river fell to 60 feet or so below the leat in a beautiful river valley. Pictures below show how it is.

The weir is breached and needs rebuilding. The leat is full of leaves and rubbish and needs clearing and the mill pond needs repairing - it is 50 years or more since it flowed and turned the mill.

Picture below shows the broken weir and the sluice which starts the mill leat.

The 800 yard long leat is filled with leaves and debris.

Or completely overgrown.

It was diverted in 1864 via a concrete aqueduct over a stream 30 foot below to feed a long since disused woolen mill.

and then flows under a busy main road to the now empty mill pond. At a corner nearest to the mill wheel there was a cast iron "plug hole" set into the ground and a 12 inch diameter plug was raised and lowered by a chain and lever mechanism controlled by the miller in the mill

The water flowed out through a hole below the pond wall to the trough which fed the water wheel.

The trough.

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