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Unsurprisingly for a county with such an abundance of water, whether river, rain or sea, most mills in Devon are water-driven. Walter Minchinton records a possible 56 Windmills, 13 Tidemills, and over 600 Watermills! The 17th century traveller, Celia Fiennes, thought there were no windmills in Devon and Cornwall at all, and reported that " the mills are all turned with a little streame or channel of water you may step over; indeed they have noe other mills but such in all the country, I saw not a windmill all over Cornwall or Devonshire tho' they have wind and hills enough, and it may be its too bleake for them."
Many prints in the Somers Cocks collection record the presence of a mill. Usually the mill is the highlight of the print. Sometimes the mill can just be glimpsed as part of a wider scene, perhaps recorded for its pastoral beauty. Whatever, the frequency of the depiction of mills records their ubiquity and the basic importance of grinding grain to everyday living.
The Somers Cocks prints also attest to the hard living and improvisations of ordinary life. Prints of mills show planks of wood banged down irregularly, windows gaping and broken, and thatched roofs sagging and patched. These rough and tumble buildings were probably recorded for their picturesque quality, but undoubtedly they are representative of the hard working life of labourer and farmer. The artist Samuel Prout, in particular, went out of his way to record the delapidated and shabby. To see his illustrations of mills, visit
SC3499,
SC3500,
SC3501 and
SC3502
Would that all were in the tip-top condition that William Nicholson, writing in the British Encyclopedia of 1809, recommends: "It is, however, necessary, that the frame-work of a mill should be very firm and substantial; that the pinions, spindles, and axles, all move freely in their sockets, which should be exactly at right angles with them; and that no greater pressure should take place on any part than the duty it is to perform may render necessary. These great principles are inseparable from the the proper construction of mills."
Successful mill working depended on the miller's skill in working with the elements. John Mallett, in his book on Downes Mill of Crediton, recounts the various options the miller had when dealing with exceptionally dry or wet weather, and the inherent dangers of each season. The text accompanying the Exmouth windmill illustration gives a good indication of how hazardous operating a windmill in full gale actually was. All depended on the skill of the miller, and how wisely he dealt with the weather.
The operation of the Tide-Mill depended on the times of the turning of the tide, and so would vary right through the year as the tide times changed. Again stormy weather and high tides had to be treated with respect and skill.
The traditional image of the Mill and its jolly Miller is recorded in the Longfellow poem below. The Miller is successful, powerful and in control. The mill is strong, well-built and, of course, wind driven. All is regulated and harmonious. There is no doubt that the windmill will conquer the elements. Ultimately peace reigns. But the Somers Cocks prints, and the contemporary text accompanying them, testify to quite a different story.
The WINDMILL
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Behold! a giant am I!
Aloft here in my tower,
With my granite jaws I devour
The maize, and the wheat, and the rye,
And grind them into flour.
I look down over the farms;
In the fields of grain I see
The harvest that is to be,
And I fling to the air my arms,
For I know it is all for me.
I hear the sound of flails
Far off, from the threshing-floors
In barns, with their open doors,
And the wind, the wind in my sails,
Louder and louder roars. |
I stand here in my place,
With my foot on the rock below,
And whichever way it may blow
I meet it face to face,
As a brave man meets his foe.
And while we wrestle and strive
My master, the miller, stands
And feeds me with his hands;
For he knows who makes him thrive,
Who makes him lord of lands.
On Sundays I take my rest;
Church-going bells begin
Their low, melodious din;
I cross my arms on my breast,
And all is peace within. |
1. Watermills.
Nicholson, William. The British Encyclopedia, or Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1809. Vol. IV. MILL. The over-shot wheel is by far the most powerful; both because it receives the water at the very commencement of descent, and that the buckets with which this kind of wheel is ordinarily furnished retain the power until they gradually discharge their contents, as these buckets successively become inferior parts of the circumference. It should be stated in this place, that much may be effected by allowing the water merely to flow upon the upper part of the wheel, into the superior buckets, whereby an immense auxiliary power is erected as they successively become filled.
Rees, Abraham. The Cyclopædia; or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature. London: Strahan and Preston, 1819-20. Vol. XXIII. MILL In water-mills, the momentum of the water is the moving power, and the attrition of the two stones in grinding is the force to be overcome. Of these there are two kinds, viz. those where the force of the water is applied above the wheel, and those where it is applied below the wheel; the former being called over-shot, and the latter under-shot mills: and to these we may add a breast-mill, where the water strikes against the middle of the wheel. [...]
Where there is but a small quantity of water, and a fall great enough for the wheel to lie under it, the bucket or over-shot wheel is always used. But where there is a large body of water, with a little fall, the breast or float-board wheel must take place. As to the under-shot mill, it is evident there can be only the impulse from the water; and therefore, the height of the water remaining the same, there must be a larger aperture of the penstock [a flood-gate for regulating the flow of water] for the discharge of a greater quantity of water in the same time, in order to produce the same effect as the over-shot or breast-mill; whence a greater expence [sic] of water will be made here than in any other mill, and can only be supplied for a constancy by a river; and where this can be had, the under-shot is the easiest, cheapest, and most simple structure, of which a mill is capable.
[The absence of images of undershot and breastshot mills in the Somers Cocks catalogue indicates their unsuitability for the Devonian terrain. The advantage of the overshot mill is that it can run on just a small amount of water provided enough fall can be obtained. The hilly Devonian landscape with its plentiful small streams is thus ideal for the overshot mill.]
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This image shows the power of an overshot mill. To see further details on this print, visit SC0342. Other examples of overshot mills can be seen at SC0333 and SC1563.
The rather dilapidated mill in this print is another overshot mill. To discover more about the print, go to SC2694.
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2. Tide Mills.
An 1865 view of Instow harbour, possibly showing the tide mill on the far right of the print. A small bay above the Quay was dammed. Inward-swinging gates allowed the tide to fill the millpond where the water was held until the tide had fallen sufficiently for the water-wheel to stand completely clear of the tidal water. The miller then released the water to work the water-wheel. Inconveniently, mill working was completely controlled by the times of the tide. When the Bideford Extension Railway Company bought the mill, they adapted the dam to carry the railway line, and the millpond was drained and became overgrown. The advertisement below was placed when the tide-mill was still fully functioning. To see the full image with text, see SC1356.
The Exeter Flying Post. Exeter: Thursday, March 2, 1797. Vol. XXXV. No. 1742. 2c.
TO MILLERS.TO BE LETT on a Lease of Years or Lives, and entered upon at Midsummer or sooner, at Instow, in the County of Devon, a very good accustomed TIDE-MILL, which may be almost constantly employed from a back Water or Reservoir; lately built for shelling of Oats, as well as for grinding Corn; together with a large Oven and Baking Room for Bread and Ship-Biscuit; [most?] beneficially situated by Water, Half a Mile from Appledore, two Miles from Bideford, four from Barnstaple - all good Market-towns. There hath been heretofore, Custom sufficient for Two Mills. A Wind-Mill adjoining, which may be re-built at a moderate Expence. [...]
Feb. 25. 1797.
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3. Windmills.
Bennett, Richard, and Elton, John. History of Cornmilling. Vol. II. Watermills and Windmills. London: Simpkin, Marshall and Company Ltd., 1899. pp. 314-5.The output of tower mills, like that of post mills, depended very largely upon the size of the sail-yards, the necessity for giving as great a length as possible to these essential features of the mill being, of course, one of the reasons which prompted the erection of the huge towers of modern times. [... Necessarily, there was never attainable any great regularity, either in the quantity ground, or in the precise quality of the produce. It required nearly as much courage to handle a large windmill as to handle a ship; in a gale a nervous man would put on the brake and hold by, while a man with plenty of courage, and with confidence in his mill, would put on more feed and let her go. The old-fashioned millers, like some of the old sailors, had a great contempt for modern machinery and appliances: "God sent the wind, and when it comes it ought to be used," was their motto, and they rarely shrank from putting it to the best use. Under such conditions the rate of out-put was a very variable quantity; [...]
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The detail of this print shows clearly the Exmouth windmill. To see the entire print, visit SC1092.
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4. Millstones.
Rees, Abraham. The Cyclopædia; or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature. London: Strahan and Preston, 1819-20. Vol. XXIII. MILL-STONES. MILL-STONES, in Rural Economy, the prepared stones made use of in grinding grain and other substances, which are of different kinds, according to the purposes for which they are employed, but those chiefly used in grinding wheat into flour, were formerly imported from France, and termed burrs. Lately, however, stones proper for this use have been discovered in different parts of this kingdom, as in Wales and Scotland. [...] The diameter of the upper stone is generally about six feet, the lower stone about an inch more; and the upper stone, when new, contains about 22½ cubic feet, which weighs somewhat more than 19,000 pounds. A stone of this diameter ought never to go more than 60 times round in a minute; for if it turns faster, it will heat the meal.
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Wornout mill-stones were regularly discarded and left lying around. To see the whole print, visit SC2695.
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5. Public use of the mill.
Rees, Abraham. The Cyclopædia; or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature. London: Strahan and Preston, 1819-20. Vol. XXIII. MILL. By an ancient ordinance the toll for grinding shall be taken either to the 20th or 24th corn; and yet, in some places, millers claim and take the 16th part: but Mr. Dalton says, that the miller should take but one quart for grinding one bushel of hard corn, and if he carry back the grist to the owner he may take two quarts of such corn, i.e. wheat rye, and meslin, (wheat and rye mixed.) For malt he shall take half as much as for hard corn. By Holt ch. just. the toll of a mill must be regulated by custom, and if the miller take more than the custom warrants, it is extortion: but if it be a new mill, the miller is not restrained to any certain toll. [...] every miller shall keep balances and weights according to the standard of the exchequer, which may be examined by a person appointed for this purpose [...] Millers may be required to weigh corn, and, on refusal, shall forfeit not exceeding 40s. [...] Every miller is required to put up in his mill a table of the prices in money, or of the amount of toll or multure [a toll paid from a proportion of the grain carried or flour made], on pain of forfeiting 20s. for every such offence.
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The detail of this print shows some poor soul struggling up to the mill with his very heavy bag of grain. To see the whole print, visit
SC0667.
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6. Different functions of the mill.
Abraham Rees, writing in his Cyclopædia of 1819-20, reminds us that "Mills [...] are machines of vast use in the manufactures, arts, and trades; for the making and preparing divers kinds of merchandizes [sic]."
He continues to list the variety of different purposes to which mills can be put. His list includes: Cotton Mills, Flood Mills, Forge Mills, Fulling Mills, Gunpowder Mills, Leather Mills, Linen Mills, Oil Mills, Paper Mills, Sawing Mills, Silk Mills, Stamping Mills, Sugar Mills, Tan or Bark Mills, Mills for Sword-blades, Threshing Mills, and Mills used in the production of Coinage.
Of course, the earliest and most common use of the mill is in the grinding of grain. The Somers Cocks prints reflect the ubiquity of the corn-mill, essential for daily life, with many many prints including images of the mill. The most notable exception is the print adjoining of Heathcoat's cloth factory at Tiverton. Devon mills with other functions are illustrated in drawings and prints that do not belong to the Somers Cocks catalogue.
The Ivybridge Papermill can be seen at P&D08914.
To see the Tucking Mills at Totnes, visit P&D08955.
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The Lace Manufactory, Tiverton
At heart, the Lace factory at Tiverton was a cloth mill. An article in the Exeter Flying Post of 30 March 1815 claims it to be " one of the most desirable in the kingdom for carrying on the spinning and weaving branches upon a large scale, from having the whole of the river Exe to drive the wheel, the low price of labour, the ready market for sale of the worsted yarn, [...]." To see the entire print, visit SC2982.
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7. Dangers and disasters of mill life.
The adjoining print illustrates East Ogwell Mills whose unfortunate miller died delivering flour in April 1893. The Miller of 1 May 1893 recounts that "The cart had been overturned by some means or other, and the shafts lay on the edge of the driver's breast, while the horse was still in the shafts. The unfortunate man was quite dead."
John Mallett, in his history of Downes Mill, near Crediton, lists the dangers of living at a mill. He wonders how millers and their children survived the dangers of mill life - unguarded pulleys and belts, open rivers, all the mill wheel workings, and constant dust and lack of illumination making even the most ordinary tasks hazardous.
For the sad story of Mr Champling who died at Exmouth windmill, see
SC1092.
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To discover further details on this print, visit SC3448.
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Bennett and Elton catch the fascination with old watermills when they quote Cullen Bryant (History of Corn Milling Vol II, p.209): "What is there in an old mill by a brook that fascinates so quickly the eye of an artist and the heart of a poet? [...] Probably no object in Nature or art has been so often drawn and painted. And yet, familiar as we are with old mills nestling quaintly among summer foliage, we always discover a fresh fascination in each new example. Was there ever an artist, who could resist the desire to add a new sketch of a subject of the kind to his portfolio? Whether the mill be one quaint and fantastic by virtue of its decay and ruin, or one that lifts its walls from the river-edge in large pretension, there is always a strange pleasure in this combination of the beautiful and the useful. The brook-side mill affords us almost the only instance of labour that is graceful, picturesque, and seductive. We can imagine a life of labour under the sweet and inspiring conditions of musical waterfalls, shadowy forests, soft airs laden with the perfume of wild flowers, that would possess a certain rich and munificent poetic calm. Too often labour mars the landscape it enters, but the mill seems to partake of the spirit of its surroundings; to gain a charm from woods and waters and to give one." The prints in the Somers Cocks catalogue are evidence of all those tempted artists! They record the same romantic and idealised vision of the past that Ruskin describes in his poem below.
THE OLD WATER-WHEEL
by John Ruskin
It lies beside the river, where its marge
Is black with many an old and oarless barge,
And yeasty filth, and leafage wild and rank
Stagnate and batten by the crumbling bank.
Once, slow revolving by the industrious mill,
It murmured, only on the Sabbath still;
And evening winds its pulse-like beating bore
Down the soft vale, and by the winding shore.
Sparkling around its orbèd motion flew,
With quick, fresh fall, the drops of dashing dew;
Through noontide heat that gentle rain was flung,
And verdant round the summer herbage sprung.
Now dancing light and sounding motion cease,
In these dark hours of cold, continual peace;
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Through its black bars the unbroken moonlight flows,
And dry winds howl about its long repose;
And mouldering lichens creep, and mosses grey
Cling round its arms, in gradual decay,
Amidst the hum of men - which doth not suit
That shadowy circle, motionless and mute.
So, by the sleep of many a human heart,
The crowd of men may bear their busy part,
Where withered, or forgotten, or subdued,
Its noisy passions have left solitude:
Ah! Little can they trace the hidden truth!
What waves have moved it in the vale of youth!
And little can its broken chords avow
How once they sounded. All is silent now.
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SOURCES
Bennett, Richard and Elton, John. History of Corn Milling. (Simpkin, Marshall and Company Ltd., 1898-1901).
Mallett, J. A History of Downes Mill, Crediton and the Mallett family. (Privately printed, 1993).
Bodman, Martin. Watermills and other water-powered sites in Devon. (Privately printed, 2003).
Minchinton, Walter and Perkins, John. Tidemills of Devon and Cornwall. (Exeter Papers in Industrial Archaeology, 1971).
Syson, Leslie. The Watermills of Britain. (David & Charles, 1980).
Ruskin, John. Poems. (George Routledge & Sons, Limited; E. P. Dutton & Co., no date).
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