It is possibly a little
unfair to start by complaining that the
title “The Mills and Millers of Hampshire”
on the cover is misleading. As the title
pages make clear, the volumes are concerned
with the water-powered mills; windmills,
and with one exception, mills constructed to
be powered by fossil fuels are not included,
unless on the site of or attached to the
water-powered mill. One form of water-power
not covered is the hydraulic ram. These two
volumes form the first two parts of a three
volume survey of the water mills and millers
of Hampshire: a third volume has now been
published. The Isle of Wight is not
covered, but mills on rivers creeks forming
the borders of Hampshire and occasionally on
tributaries running into rivers which are
originally within the county have been
included. This is obviously useful to
readers interested in a particular river or
landscape. Fundamentally, this is a
collection of information about sources: it
does not seek to be a history of water
milling in Hampshire. It is heavily
illustrated in both black and white and
colour, though the reproduction of pictures
is rather small, and really only draws
attention to works which would repay further
study. There are numerous excellent
diagrams and technical drawings covering the
more complicated sites.
The Introduction
acknowledges the work of Tony Yoward,
Archivist of the Hampshire Mills Group
(HMG), and his late wife Mary, who collected
information about the mills and millers of
Hampshire for many years. Their work has
been supplemented by contributions from
other members of HMG and of Hampshire
Industrial Archaeological Society. These
volumes contain notes drawn from five main
sources of information: publications,
intensive research into local records,
conclusions drawn from site investigation
and sometimes archaeological excavation,
oral history; accounts of restoration work
undertaken and the information this has
revealed. Local and some national archives
have been extensively trawled, including
census, wills and local government and
church records, estate records, insurance
records, local newspapers, and the journals
and records of local societies. The book is
a rare and praiseworthy example of a local
history publication whose plan has been
clearly thought out to make it helpful to
researchers in a variety of fields. The
researchers should be congratulated on the
quantity and quality of information
gathered, but equally the editor and
production team deserve praise for the
clarity with which this information has been
presented. The introductions are partially
repeated in both volumes and include very
helpful guides as how to use the book to
recover information. There are maps showing
the rivers of Hampshire and the location of
mills in the book, together with information
on local groups working in this area of
study, a glossary of mill terms, and a clear
diagram of the typical layout of a
watermill. Both honest and valuable is an
acknowledgement that there remains much
undiscovered material, inviting readers to
contact HMG with new information.
The sites vary from
those still in or restored to working order
to those where no trace remains visible and,
indeed, whose exact location may be
uncertain. The mills are grouped by river,
working down from the source to the sea,
with both six-figure grid and GPS reference
giving the exact location. This is followed
by a brief summary of the history of the
mill as far as it is known. In Hampshire as
elsewhere, a watermill was essentially a
power source and, while on the majority of
sites in Hampshire this power was used for
milling grain, there was a wide range of
other uses including tucking (fulling),
pumping, iron working, spinning, cloth
making and, in later years, electricity
generation. Changes of use over the years
are noted. As late as the mid-20th century,
waterwheels were still being installed to
pump water to large houses. While on almost
all sites the power was initially by a
waterwheel, on many sites from the 19th
century on waterwheels were replaced or
supplemented by water turbines, and on later
sites may be the initial installation. A
number of sites also acquired supplementary
steam or oil engines. The initial history
is followed by a fully referenced series of
notes – sometimes full transcripts,
sometimes summaries – of all the information
found in the archives. There are indexes
not only on mills, but also on the names of
individuals found in the course of the
research, with the location of the
reference.
This series is designed
to be and will be an invaluable tool for
researchers in a number of fields, not just
industrial history and archaeology, but also
local history, business history and family
history. I recently described a book as a
quarry for historians; these volumes are
like a builders’ merchant, with everything
openly available and very accessible. It
should prove an invaluable aid to
researchers into Hampshire history.
