Bill Mills, Pontshill, near Ross on Wye

On a recent walk of several miles from home we came upon a place that perfectly illustrates the rural context of the early industrial revolution. Bill Mills, in the Castle Brook valley, is a rural site first mentioned in a document of 1362. At that time it is likely to have been a small, water-powered corn mill. From about 1638 to 1821 it was a paper mill, mainly dependent on water power, but latterly using a steam engine. Thereafter it returned to grinding corn for flour using the water wheel driven by the brook. In the second half of the nineteenth century the mill also bottled beer and mineral water with the aid of a steam engine. Flour milling and mineral water bottling continued until WW2 using a Tangye horizontal steam engine (still in situ). In the last quarter of the twentieth century the building was largely disused and derelict apart from a few dwellings acting as holiday cottages.

In recent years the whole site has been sensitively restored to incorporate ten dwellings. Its Grade II listing has ensured that care was taken to preserve features that told of its interesting past.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2