CPAT Regional Sites & Monuments Record

PRN 20892 - Welshpool, Town-Lock Mill

Town Lock Cornmill was sited on the by-pass of the town lock, taking advantage of the water power from the weir, while not interfering with trade on the canal. The mill and its waterwheel (PRN 72069) are visible on one of a series of postcards produced locally and dating c.1914. The mill is first recorded in the Montgomeryshire Canal Report Books in January 1838 but is not recorded on the 1840 Tithe Map. It is shown on the 1854 Map and in detail on the 1884 Ist edition OS map. The structure has now been demolished and the site is now concreted over (Frost, P, 1998).

The mill at Welshpool Town Lock seems to have been first mentioned in 1838. This mill took advantage of the water supply from the 'pound' or level above Welshpool which by-passed the lock without interfering with the trade lower down. A photograph of the Town Lock Corn Mill at the beginning of the twentieth century and the present remains of the wheel pit and axle show the wheel to have been undershot with a diameter of about 6 metres. The by-pass, retaining wall and axle box are still present although the mill itself has gone. The mill owner in 1845 was Hannah Jones, salt and corn dealer, aged 56 (T 1841). According to a local informant the wheel was still there in the early 1970s although not running.(Barton, P G,1999, 52).

Sources:-
Barton, P G , 1997 , ,
Barton, P G , 1999 , "A history and conspectus of Montgomeryshire water corn mills ", The Montgomeryshire Collections 87 , 52 .
Frost, P , 1998 , Berriew Road, Welshpool, desk top assessment and survey , CAP report 66 .
Hughes, S R , 1981 , "The Industrial Archaeology of the Montgomeryshire Canal ", The Montgomeryshire Collections 69 , .
Jones, N W, Silvester, R J & Britnell, W J , 2003 , Montgomery Canal Conservation Management Strategy. Landscape Archaeology Assessment , CPAT Report 550 .

Events:-
Assessment CAP / 1998(/ /) -
Assessment CPAT / 2003(31/08/03) -
Desktop study CPAT / 2003(31/08/03) -
HLC CPAT / 2003(31/08/03) -

record created 31/12/88 GF88 - copyright CPAT , last updated 10/05/04
The above data are supplied by CPAT in partnership with its Local Authorities and the partners of END, © CPAT SMR partnership, 2004 (and in part © Crown, 2004 - as indicated)

CM - 10/05/04 ( 11:59:08 ) - HTML file produced from CPAT's Regional SMR
Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, Curatorial Section, 7a Church Street, Welshpool, Powys SY21 7DL.
tel (01938) 553670 , fax (01938) 552179, email trust@cpat.org.uk , website www.cpat.org.uk