144, Page 7


Page 7	Newsletter 144 Spring 2024 © Hampshire Mills Group

Kirkoswald Mill

Ruth and Keith Andrews

While in Cumbria last September, as well as visiting Little Corby Mill (see page 6), we also found this mill at Kirkoswald. The mill is very interesting and intriguing both inside and out.

The exterior is well documented, particularly in Mike Davies-Shiel’s Watermills of Cumbria produced in 1978 by Dalesman Books; a copy of which is in the HMG Library. His photograph of the remaining large 19ft overshot wheel was used on the front cover of the book, and is very similar to our photo here. He described the wear marks of two additional wheels, with the comment “I believe we have found the site of a paper mill last reported to exist about 1851”.

That is all he wrote, so we suspect that he did not see inside the building. We were fortunate to be shown around the inside by the owners; however they did not want us to write about it or to publish interior photographs.

Once it was pointed out to us, we easily traced the stone-walled leat leading down from a set of sluices 400 yards further up the beck. The mill leat goes to the right; there was a second cast iron leat crossing the river that led to a different mill – now a sawmill, but once a bobbin mill we believe.

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