Water & Steam Mills in Essex 2008
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WATER & STEAM MILLS IN ESSEX COMPARATIVE SURVEY OF MODERN & INDUSTRIAL SITES and MONUMENTS No. 18 WATER & STEAM MILLS IN ESSEX An archaeological, architectural and historical appraisal of post-medieval and industrial age water powered and steam powered mills COMPARATIVE SURVEY OF MODERN / INDUSTRIAL SITES AND MONUMENTS No. 18 August 2008 Report by Adam Garwood Historic Environment Record Essex County Council County Hall Chelmsford Essex CM1 1QH Tel: 01245 437530 Fax: 01245 437213 [email protected] Front cover: Little Hallingbury Mill, Gaston Green COMPARATIVE SURVEY OF MODERN / INDUSTRIAL SITES AND MONUMENTS IN ESSEX The survey of standing and buried remains of the more recent architectural and archaeological heritage of Essex began in 1995. Copies of the survey reports are listed below and are available for public consultation at the Essex Historic Environment Record and the Essex Records Office. Gould, S. 1996: The Essex Malt Industry: History, Technology and Architecture. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.1 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Thorpe, S. 1996: Military Airfields in Essex During World War Two. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.2 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Gibson, S. 1997: The Essex Lime Industry. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.3 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Kemble, J. 1997: Historic Boundary Markers in Essex. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.4 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Gould, S., Crosby, T. and Gibson, S. 1997: Malthouses in Essex Volume Two. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.5 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Garwood, A. 1997: Iron Foundries in Essex. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.6 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Doyle, T. 1997: Fields of the First. A history of aircraft landing grounds in Essex used during the First World War. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.7 (Forward Airfield Research Publishing). Garratt, T. 1998: Essex Poor Law Buildings: erected and utilised following the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.8 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Garwood, A. 1999: Essex Hospitals 1800-1948. A Study of their History, Design and Architecture. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.9 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Cocroft, W. and Menuge, A. 2001: Buildings of the Radio Electronics Industry in Essex. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.10 (Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England typescript report). Kemble, J., Gould, S., and Pratt, N.L. 2001: The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation and Conservation Area. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.11 (Essex County Council internal typescript report - two volumes). Crosby, T. 1999: The Public Water Supply Industry in Essex 1850-1939. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.12 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Crosby, T. 2001: The Essex Textile Industry. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.13 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Pratt, N.L. 2002: Road Transport in Essex 1750-1900: a survey of tollhouses, milemarkers, and signposts. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.14 (Essex County Council internal typescript report – two volumes). Pratt, N.L. 2003: Road Transport in Essex 1750-1900: a survey of Road bridges. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.15 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Crosby, T. 2002: The Essex Brewing Industry. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No.16 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Crosby, T., Garwood. A & Corder-Birch, A. 2006: Industrial Housing in Essex. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No. 17 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). Garwood, A. 2008: Water and Steam Mills in Essex. Comparative Survey of Modern/Industrial Sites and Monuments No. 18 (Essex County Council internal typescript report). PROGRESS OF COMPARATIVE SURVEY OF MODERN/INDUSTRIAL SITES & MONUMENTS IN ESSEX The following sets out the work to date and future programme. Themes are selected on the basis of perceived threat together with the expertise of the individual fieldworker. Where appropriate the larger categories will be sub-divided into smaller units so that they can be effectively tackled. LIST OF CATIGORIES FIELDWORK REPORT HER ENHANCEMENT Extractive Industry Brick & Tile UNDERWAY Cement UNDERWAY Gravel Manufacture Iron DONE DONE DONE Textiles DONE DONE DONE Lime DONE DONE DONE Glass Pottery UNDERWAY Leather Salt Chemicals Explosives Electronics DONE DONE DONE Urban Industry Agriculture Food & Drink Malting DONE DONE DONE Brewing DONE DONE DONE Watermills DONE DONE Windmills Food Processing Public Utilities Water DONE DONE DONE Gas Electricity Oil Nuclear Power Communications Road DONE DONE DONE Railway UNDERWAY River Canals UNDERWAY Ports Aviation (military) DONE DONE DONE Aviation (civil) Bridges DONE DONE DONE Leisure & Recreation Public Buildings & Institutions Workhouses DONE DONE DONE Hospitals DONE DONE DONE Schools Prisons Religion Housing DONE DONE DONE CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction 1 2. Layout of Report 2 3. Historic Context 2 4. The Architecture of Essex Mills 10 5. Priorities 13 5.1 Sites of Local Significance 14 5.2 Sites of Regional Significance 15 5.3 Sites of National Significance 17 5.4 Sites of Major National/International Significance 19 6. Designations 22 6.1 Recommendations for listing 22 6.2 Recommendations for re-grading 23 6.3 Recommendations for conservation area status 24 6.4 List Descriptions 25 6.5 Buildings at Risk 26 7. Discussion 27 8. Conclusions 30 9. Recommended Future Policy 32 10. Bibliography 33 Appendix: I Glossary of Terms 35 Appendix: II Demolished Water and Steam Mills 37 Appendix: III Distribution Maps (Figs I & II) 40 Essex Water and Steam Mills: A Comparative Study 1. Introduction This report details the results of an extensive county-wide survey of post-medieval and Industrial Age water and steam powered mills in Essex. The survey was undertaken to record and assess all the extant mills in Essex and provide, where appropriate, descriptions of their associated buildings (millhouses, granaries and stables), structures (sluices and weirs) and watercourses. The three main types of mill surveyed were river mills, coastal tide mills and steam mills built or later converted to corn milling, fulling, textile manufacturing or gunpowder milling. This survey did not include: • Windmills. These will be covered in a separate report • Demolished watermills, or sites where only the mill house, watercourses or ancillary buildings remain • A detailed analysis of the watercourses and landscapes This report should not be considered as a complete list of all mills or mill sites in Essex. As has been stated above, certain categories have been omitted from this survey for reasons of expediency. The aim of the survey is to establish priorities within the surviving resource, to assess the existing statutory designations, to analyse the extent of reuse within this building category, to provide a definitive list of the best examples in Essex (in terms of architectural and technological survival) and where appropriate formulate a coherent management strategy. Assessing the significance of each site and recommending a framework for the future management will ensure that each site is fully considered and an appropriate response given should significant remains become threatened. As most watermills are already listed or lie within conservation areas existing designations should ensure that a sympathetic approach is taken to guard against unnecessary demolition and/or insensitive works. Although designation should be sufficient to preserve the historic, architectural and technological integrity of a mill, it is also clear that in many cases the list descriptions, carried out over the last 20-30 years, may no longer accurately represent of the current state of the building. In such cases the descriptions and the Historic Environment Record (HER) need to be updated to provide accurate baseline information for future conservation advice. This survey identifies the existence of the remaining buildings on a particular site, describes their external character, features, architecture, history and in the few cases where internal access was available their technological standing. It also comments upon completeness of the building/s, group value, condition, present use and importance. At least one photograph was taken of each site and the mill and associated buildings marked onto a current OS map extract. Due to the nature of the survey just over a third or 35% of the mills were inspected internally, therefore, where appropriate, recommendations are made that current internal configurations should be inspected, assessed and/or studied in detail through PPG 15 and PPG 16, as and when they become the subject of a planning application or pre planning enquiry. 1 Essex Water and Steam Mills: A Comparative Study Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 (DoE 1990) notes that “developers and local authorities should take