Site reveals evidnc e of textile works
A discovery which could lshed light on Combe Martin's hidden textile industry has been unearthed in a village field.
Archaeologist Trevor Dunkerley has excavated a waterwheel pit and walls on the site of what he thinks could be a fulling mill used to treat and prepare cloth.
It reveals yet another industry on the heritage mining site and one which until now has remained largely a mystery to local historians.
Trevor is a member of the Combe Martin Silver Mining and Research Society which owns the site and with the help of volunteers has been investigating a field near the mine workings.
The intermittent nature of mining meant villagers had to earn a living in other ways, too, and this could well explain how they did so.
The find was prompted by the discovery of hundreds of shards of pottery, dating from the early to late medieval period and also some going back to late-Saxon times.
The mill would have included a waterwheel, leat and millpond and Trevor thinks it could have been owned by the church, perhaps even the Priory of St Mary Magdalene in Barnstaple.
An 1841 tithe survey named land nearby as "Rack Park," common near fulling mills, as workers would leave treated cloth on racks to dry.
"Until that point there was no written evidence of there ever being a mill up here, as it seemed a most unlikely spot," said Trevor.
"We have a sale reference of 1813 where they bought an iron waterwheel, probably to replace a wooden one, and there's also reference to a blacksmith here drowning in a mill pond."
From the early 19th century, Trevor thinks the mill was turned to pumping water from the silver mines, until steam power made it obsolete.
"We intend to excavate the whole of this area and landscape it so that people can see it all properly," he said.
Trevor Dunkerley is looking for volunteers to join the project work, which takes place every Thursday between 10am-4pm. Anyone who would like to learn more can telephone him on (01271) 883833.
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