MILLS.
At the time of the Domesday Survey
there were six mills on the capital manor of Westbury. (fn. 62) In 1226-7 the grant of a mill, formerly
belonging to Alric at Brook, then part of the
capital manor, was confirmed to the priory of
Monkton Farleigh. (fn. 63) It was probably this mill which
Walter Pavely acquired from Monkton Farleigh
in 1320, (fn. 64) and formed part of his estate at Brook on
his death in 1323. (fn. 65) A fulling mill at Brook was
leased by Henry Long, a Westbury clothier, in c.
1539. (fn. 66) When the manor of Brook was divided up
into a number of small estates in 1599, three fulling
mills and a grain mill were included in the Brook
Farm estate conveyed by Lord Mountjoy to Sir
Edward Hungerford. (fn. 67) One of these mills was
presumably Brook Mill, which at this date was
leased by Anthony Wilkins, a clothier. (fn. 68) In 1624
the occupier was Anthony's son, William, (fn. 69) and in
1653 it was Richard Wilkins, fuller of Westbury. (fn. 70)
On a map of 1773 the mill at Brook is called Roses
Mill. (fn. 71) In 1785 the lessee was Thomas Phipps of
Chalford, who that year bought the mill together
with Brook Farm. The mill was then said to be a
grist and fulling mill. (fn. 72) By 1890 the mill was disused,
but its pond beside the Biss Brook, and adjoining
Brook Mill Farm, was shown on a map of that
date. (fn. 73)
In 1323, besides the mill at Brook, there were
two water mills on the capital manor of Westbury, (fn. 74)
and there were still two when the manor was divided
between the heirs of Sir John Pavely in 1361. (fn. 75) A
grain mill and a fulling mill belonging to the manor
of Westbury Arundell were sold with the manor
in 1549-50 by Sir John Arundell to Thomas Long,
and passed with the manor to Sir James Ley in
1613. (fn. 76) Two water mills were attached to the manor
of Westbury Seymour in 1607, and presumably
also passed to Sir James Ley with that manor in
1621. (fn. 77)
Bitham Mill attached to the manor of Westbury
Stourton belonged in 1573 to William Whitaker,
grandson of Stephen Whitaker, who had acquired
the manor in 1570. (fn. 78) It was then described as a
large fulling mill, with loft above, and all things
fitted for the dressing of cloth. When William
Whitaker sold the manor in 1619-20 to Sir James
Ley, he expressly reserved Bitham Mill and the
adjoining Bitham House. (fn. 79) By 1772 the mill had
passed to Granville Wheler, (fn. 80) and was sold that year
to the clothier Thomas Gaisford, who was already
the lessee. (fn. 81) Power for the mill was supplied from
the adjacent pond, through which the Bitham Brook
runs. (fn. 82) Thomas Gaisford died in 1774 (fn. 83) and his
son, John, sold the mill to John Deane, clothier of
Trowbridge, James Cole of Trowbridge, and two
Westbury clothiers, Thomas Matravers and John
Crosby. In 1795 Deane relinquished his share in
the mill to Cole, Crosby, and John Matravers,
probably a son of Thomas Matravers. Six years
later the share of Thomas Matravers passed to his
daughter Elizabeth, on her marriage to Thomas
White, and the firm operating the mill became
known as Crosby & White. James Cole relinquished
his share in the concern in 1811, and John Matravers
made over his share in the following year. In 1820
John Crosby left his share in the mill to his two
daughters, his son, Thomas, his brother-in-law,
Thomas Finnemore Evans, and to Thomas White,
and William Matravers. In 1824 Thomas Crosby,
White, and Evans conveyed the mill in trust for
Benjamin Overbury. By this date spinning shops
had been added to the fulling mill. The next year
the mill was mortgaged to secure a loan of £4,000
to Overbury, to William Matravers of Melksham,
who was probably the owner of Angel Mill about
¼ mile to the south, and in 1842 also owned
mills at Hawkeridge and Chalford. (fn. 84)
Angel Mill, or its site at the junction of Church
and Maristow Streets, was purchased in 1784 from
the Earl of Abingdon by John Matravers, then described as a 'shopkeeper'. A partnership between
Matravers and Overbury had been formed by 1818,
and probably operated Angel Mill, while the firm
at Bitham Mill was still Crosby & White. In 1828
Nathaniel Overbury leased Angel Mill from
William Matravers, and by 1833 both mills were
operated by the firm of Matravers & Overbury. By
this date a 20 H.P. engine at Angel Mill, and a
60 H.P. engine at Bitham Mill, had been installed,
and a new block built at Bitham Mill. The 60 H.P.
engine at Bitham Mill was the most powerful one
in the county in 1838. In the 1840's both mills
were mortgaged, and for a time Angel Mill ceased
to be used for cloth, and became the flour mill of a
firm called Cave & Price. In 1849, however, Angel
Mill was leased by Abraham Laverton from the
trustees of William Matravers, and reconverted for
the production of cloth. In 1852 Laverton bought
Angel Mill, and in the same year Bitham Mill was
bought by James Wilson, M.P. for Westbury
1847-57, and his brother, William. In 1856 the
Wilsons sold Bitham Mill to Abraham Laverton,
who thus became owner of both mills, and the
firm which he founded, A. Laverton & Co. Ltd.,
still operated them both in 1960. (fn. 85)
The buildings at both mills were extended during
the life-time of Abraham Laverton. At Bitham Mill a
storehouse was built for Laverton's speculative
purchases of wool and yarn. In 1930 Pond Farm
which adjoined the mill was bought and the site used
for additional factory premises. Conversion from
steam-power to electric-drive took place at Angel Mill
in the middle of the 1930's and at Bitham Mill in 1939.
In 1952 the upper stories of the tall early-19thcentury building at Bitham Mill were removed to
allow for operations on the spatial and horizontal
system employed by modern industry. The oldest
part of the Angel Mill buildings appears to be a
four-storied red-brick range of 10 bays, the 4 central bays projecting and being surmounted by a
pediment. The two-light windows have unmoulded
stone frames and segmental heads, typical of early19th-century mill building in Trowbridge and
elsewhere. An 8-bay range at right angles to the
north end of the above building has similar windows but appears to be of later brickwork.
A corn mill at Westbury was conveyed in 1428
by Sir John Chidiock, Sir Walter Sandes, and
Margery, his wife, to John Curteys, Agnes, his
wife, and their son, John, for their lives. (fn. 86) This
may have been the corn mill on the Bitham Brook,
about ½ mile north from Bitham Mill, marked on
a map of 1890 (fn. 87) and disused by 1882. (fn. 88) In 1959
the former mill buildings were used by the Gas
Company on whose premises they stood.
William of Westbury acquired a mill from John
Durnell and Alice, his wife, in 1408-9. (fn. 89) It was
then occupied by John Dyer and his wife, Joan,
and the conveyance to William was confirmed in
1413 by Richard Pavely. (fn. 90) This mill may have been
included in the property which passed from
William of Westbury to Agnes, wife of Robert
Leversage. (fn. 91) In 1628 when the Leversage property
passed to Sir James Ley there was a mill included
called Tomars Mill. (fn. 92) This may have been in Hawkeridge where much of the Leversage property
lay. (fn. 93) Jacob Weeks was leasing Hawkeridge Mill
from William Matravers in 1842. (fn. 94) In 1859 William
Dowding was manufacturing cloth at Hawkeridge, (fn. 95)
presumably at the mill marked on the map in 1890,
but shortly afterwards said to be disused. (fn. 96) In
1908 this mill was used by the firm of A. L.
Jefferies Ltd., of Westbury, for leather-dyeing and
dressing. (fn. 97) It is a large building of 4 stories and
7 bays and in 1960 was partly derelict. About
½ mile south-east there is another mill on the
Bitham Brook in the parish of Heywood. This is
Blenches Mill, a corn mill at the end of the 19th
century, but disused early in the 20th. (fn. 98)
There was a fulling mill attached to the manor of
Leigh Priors when this was acquired by the
clothier, John Adlam, in 1545. At this date it was
leased to John Whitaker, alias Bathe. (fn. 99) A fulling
mill at Westbury Leigh was conveyed in 1550 by
John Stanshall and Anne, his wife, to Christopher
Stanshall. (fn. 1) This may have been the mill, which
Adlam Stanshall sold in 1594 to John Lambe, (fn. 2) and
John Lambe sold to Sir James Ley in 1616. (fn. 3)
Another fulling mill in Westbury Leigh was conveyed in 1584 by George, Lord Audley, lord of the
manor of Westbury Mauduits, (fn. 4) to the clothier
Thomas Lawrence, or Saunders, (fn. 5) who died seised
of it in 1602. (fn. 6) His son Thomas sold the mill in
1605-6 to Sir James Ley, (fn. 7) and it presumably later
became annexed to Sir James's manor of Brook
cum Mauduits. (fn. 8) Henry and Nicholas Phipps, who
acquired the manor of Westbury Mauduits in
1585, purchased a fulling mill in Westbury Leigh
from Charles, Lord Mountjoy, in 1599. (fn. 9) The fulling
mill attached to Westbury Mauduits in 1620 was
said to be in a field called Highesfield. (fn. 10) Henry and
Nicholas Phipps also had a mill at Chalford, presumably on the stream called Wellhead Stream.
On his death in 1600 Henry Phipps devised this
mill to his nephew Henry. (fn. 11) In 1668 two water
mills called Chalford Mills were conveyed by
Thomas Phipps, clothier, of Westbury, to Samuel
Ash, clothier, of Chalcot, then lord of the manor
of Westbury Mauduits. (fn. 12) A corn and fulling mill
called Ludborne Mills, and two similar mills called
Leigh Mills, were included in the conveyance of
the manor of Westbury Leigh and Ludborne to
James Powton in 1592. (fn. 13) Leigh fulling mill had
been leased in 1551 to Geoffrey Whitaker for 61
years, (fn. 14) and in 1599 one of the Leigh mills was
leased by John Adlam, and Ludborne Mills were
leased by Thomas Raymond. (fn. 15)
It is impossible to identify with certainty any of
these mills at Westbury Leigh and Chalford with
the mills in those places in the 18th and 19th
centuries. In 1773 there was a mill called Wellhead
Mill on Wellhead Stream, east of the Westbury-Warminster road, which was probably one of the
mills at Chalford belonging to the Phippses in the
16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 16) In 1839 it belonged to
the firm of England & Son, cassimere manufacturers. (fn. 17) In 1842 William England was leasing
this mill, and Samuel Dowding was leasing a mill
called Chalford Mill from William Matravers, who
owned Bitham and Angel Mills. (fn. 18) In 1960 Well-head Mill was derelict. There was another mill
marked on the map of 1773 further to the west
along the same stream and at the end of Westbury
Leigh nearest Westbury. (fn. 19) This was called Ball's
Mill in the 1880's, and was then a corn mill. (fn. 20) In
1901 it was bought by Boulton Bros. (Glovers) Ltd.
and converted into a gloving factory. (fn. 21) In 1773
there was also a mill at the other end of Westbury
Leigh on the Biss Brook called Woollers Mill. (fn. 22)
In about 1800 two new buildings were erected on or
near this site for the manufacture of cloth, and the
mill became known as Boyer's. (fn. 23) In 1830 it was the
premises of the clothier James Cockell, (fn. 24) but by
1834 it was in the hands of Benjamin Overbury, (fn. 25)
who, in partnership with William Matravers, was
also operating Bitham and Angel Mills. There was
water power only at Boyer's Mill at this date, and
the supply was irregular according to the amount
of water available in the Biss Brook. (fn. 26) For a time
in the middle of the century Boyer's Mill belonged
to Abraham Laverton, but in c. 1855 it was leased
from a Doctor Gibbs by the cloth manufacturer,
Joseph Harrop. (fn. 27) In 1872 this mill had 3 steam
engines producing together 90 H.P. It was proposed
that year to install a new water wheel of 16 h.p.,
but lack of sufficient water in the Biss was causing
concern. (fn. 28) In 1875 the mill was occupied by the
firm of Wilkins and Cogswell, woolspinners and
carders. (fn. 29) In 1900 it was acquired by the tanning
and leather-dressing firm of Case & Sons, and in
1960, under the name of Leigh Works, was the
factory of that firm. A brick range of 4 stories and
6 bays at the southern end of the site is probably
one of the buildings erected c. 1800 (see above). (fn. 30)
Further north the former manager's house, used
in 1960 as laboratories, is of about the same period.
A corn mill at Westbury Leigh, also on the Biss
Brook, just south of Boyer's Mill, was called Leigh
Mill in 1773. (fn. 31) This ceased to be used in c. 1930. (fn. 32)
A mill at Penleigh on the Biss was devised by
Thomas Knight, tucker, of Westbury Leigh, to
his son Edmund in 1497. (fn. 33) In 1569 Penleigh Mill
was leased to Stephen Whitaker and his sons,
Henry and Stephen, for their lives. (fn. 34) The lessees of
the mill were bound to provide the steward of the
manor of Bremeridge and his horses with food and
lodging for two days and nights twice yearly, and
to collect rents on the manor. (fn. 35) This mill was undoubtedly one of the group of grist mills at Penleigh
belonging to the manor of Bremeridge, which, with
other lands at Penleigh, was granted in 1609-10
to Edward Ferrers and Francis Phillipps. (fn. 36) This
property, including the mills, was purchased from
Ferrers and Phillips by Sir James Ley, and he held
it at the time of this death in 1629. (fn. 37) At the end of
the 19th century Penleigh Mill was a corn mill.
By 1922, and probably considerably earlier, it was
disused. (fn. 38)
There was a mill at Melbourne (Bratton) in 1221. (fn. 39)
A mill at Bratton was given to the Bonhommes of
Edington in 1427 by John Frank and others. (fn. 40) A
grist mill at the same place was sold by the brothers
Christopher and William Whitaker in c. 1585. (fn. 41) In
1594-5 four water mills were attached to the manor
of Bratton, (fn. 42) and it was presumably one of these,
which was in the possession of Jeffery Whitaker,
of Tinhead, in 1599. From Jeffery it descended
to his son Nash, and from Nash Whitaker to his
son Geoffrey. (fn. 43) Only one mill at Bratton is marked
on the map of 1773. This is at Stradbrook and is
called Bratton Mill. (fn. 44) In 1838, however, there were
three cloth, or woollen, mills, all working. (fn. 45) Just
north of the bridge at the bottom of Melbourne
Street was Bridge Mill where wool was prepared
for manufacture elsewhere. (fn. 46) In 1898 the buildings
were being used by the Bratton Dairy Co. Ltd., but
this concern had closed by the beginning of the
First World War. (fn. 47) In 1960 the mill and adjoining
wool store were used by a building contractor. The
wool store has stone windows with segmental heads
and a central stone mullion which are typical of
early-19th-century mills in this area. South of the
bridge was Stradbrook Mill. In 1858 when this
was advertised for sale it was said to have power and
equipment to produce about 35 cassimeres a week. (fn. 48)
It was, however, closed before 1890, (fn. 49) and has since
been converted into a number of dwellings. Luccombe Mill to the south of Stradbrook Mill was
occupied by Isaac Brent in 1823. (fn. 50) In 1842 he had
been succeeded by Samuel Brent, (fn. 51) and in the later
19th century the mill was operated by George
Brent, woolspinner and carder. By 1895 it had
closed, (fn. 52) and has since been converted into a single
residence. There was also a grist mill on the same
stream to the north of Bridge Mill. This still stood
in 1960, although derelict.
In 1086 there were two mills on the estate belonging to William Scudet, which was probably the
estate held by the Dauntseys in Bratton and Dilton
in the 13th and 14th centuries. (fn. 53) In 1315 there was
a water mill on the Dauntsey manor of Dilton, and
in 1348, (fn. 54) when some land in Bratton was included
within the manor, there were two water mills,
and a fulling mill. (fn. 55) The mills, with the rest of the
manor of Dilton, passed to the Bonhommes at
Edington in 1388. (fn. 56) When in 1540 the manor was
granted to John Bush there was a corn mill and a
fulling mill attached to it. (fn. 57) Three years later another
fulling mill at Dilton was granted to Nicholas
Temple and Richard Andrews. (fn. 58) According to
Hoare a mill called Dilton Mill was bought by John
Waldron of Trowbridge, who built a cloth factory
on Tun, or Town, Mead, which formed part of the
property belonging to the mill. (fn. 59) No trace of this
factory survives. At the end of the 19th century there
was a corn mill on the Biss Brook, just north of
Dilton church, but it ceased to be worked
some time during the first quarter of the 20th
century. (fn. 60)