Halstock Mill Halstock Duncan Harris (January 2014) (I wish to thank many people from the museum and the village who have provided the information for this document) 1
Halstock Mill History of mill There was probably only one flax mill in Halstock. 1789 deeds describe it as a water-grist mill, but a further conveyance document in 1809 refers to it as 'now used for spinning thread'. Owners In the conveyance of 1809 George Bullock of East Coker, a sailcloth manufacturer buys the lease of the mill as a mill for spinning thread. The release is by Robert Burdett of Yeovil. 7 th December 1809 for the sum of 5 shillings. Conveyance (Lease and Release) 1 Robert Burdett of Yeovil, Somerset, Millwright 2 George Bullock of East Coker, Somerset, sailcloth manufacturer Property: (1 and 2) a mill, once used as a water grist mill, now used as for spinning thread with the mill house, mill stream and a little garden (2r) known as Halstock Mill, together with orchard (½ a) adjoining it with a plot of ground with an outhouse and stable on the opposite side of the road in Halstock Consideration: 900-7-8 December 1809 Dorset History Centre document D.1259/1/2 2. 1841 Unoccupied 1. 1845 Landowner Revd. William T Grim Occupier Joseph Tyte (spelled Tite elsewhere) Tithe apportionment information 209 House, factory, outbuildings, 1 perch 21 roods 4. Joseph Tite had also had an interest in Whatley Mill. He was also at Clenham mill, Netherbury where he went bankrupt in 1848 7. WHEREAS the Commissioner acting in the prosecution of a Fiat in Bankruptcy awarded and issued forth against Joseph Tite, of Clenham-mill, in the parish of Netherbury,in the county of Dorset, Flax and Tow Spinner, Dealer and Chapman, hath duly certified, that the said Joseph Tite hath in all things conformed himself according to the directions of the Acts of Parliament made and now in force concerning bankrupts; this is to give notice, that, by virtue of an Act, passed in the tenth and eleventh years of the reign of Her present Majesty Queen Victoria, intituled "An Act to abolish the Court, of. Review in. Bankruptcy, and to make alterations in the jurisdiction of the Courts of Bankruptcy and Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors," the Certificate of the said Joseph Tite will be allowed and confirmed by the Vice Chancellor of the High Court or Chancery acting in Bankruptcy, unless cause be shewn to the contrary, on or before the 14th day of April 1848. There is more about Joseph Tite in Appendix A. He chose the wrong time to come into the trade (see Appendix B) 11. 2
Still in existence in 1959 (owner Air Vice- Marshal S E Storrar) 3 and today the old mill is derelict, some ruins left 5 and the newer mill has been rebuilt as a house. Location It was to the north west of the village and is now a private house by the old road to Pendomer. OS Explorer Map 117530088 ST Processes Spinning thread, possibly spinning flax and tow. Products Thread. Mention of a stable suggest that they may have transported their own goods. Power Sources Probably a water wheel outside the building. It would possibly be breast shot or may be even undershot. Map of leat from Tithe Map River Pond Mill Stream supplemented by a pond 3
Employees No information Customers Possibly the owner in 1809. No information for later owners but probably thread for the sailcloth mills of Crewkerne area. Landscape legacies Halstock Mill as a house, 2013 6 Photograph by Jenny Cuthbert See also the photographs below of the ruins of a former mill or outbuildings. Photographs The three photographs are of the remnants of an old mill or outbuildings behind the current building. Halstock Mill ruins 2013 Photograph by Mr Lemmey 4
Halstock Mill ruins 2013 Photograph by Mr Lemmey Halstock Mill ruins 2013 Photograph by Mr Lemmey 5
Appendix A Joseph Tite Family history Joseph Tite was born at Stalbridge in 1797. In 1822 he married Joan Read but she died in childbirth in 1824 and their son Joseph died a few months later. Joan Read may have been the daughter of Simon Read the wool-stapler and mill owner. In 1826 he was re-married Frances Evans of Netherbury, who died in 1836. They had lost another child in infancy. He may have been married by Joseph White her father, who was the curate of one of the independent chapels. In 1837 he re-married Elizabeth who may have been Frances sister. It is with his third wife that he emigrated to Australia in about 1848. Joseph was a stalwart of the Congregational Chapel in Beaminster. However, the marriages and baptisms varied between non-conformity and Church of England. There is more information about his other business interests 13. Read s Mill, Beaminster 1842 Jos Tite (tenant) Flax mill, Fleet Street, J&R Read (owner) 8 1842 John and Richard Read, Mill, Fleet Street 8 1845 Tite (owner) Mill, Fleet Street 8 Halstock Mill 1845 Landowner Revd William Trim Occupier Joseph Tyte (Tithe map apportionment numbers: 209 House, factory, outbuildings, 1 perch 21 roods) 5. Clenham Mill, Netherbury 1846 Tite 1849 premises to let owner shown as Joseph Tite 12 although he was bankrupt (see next page). 6
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Bankruptcy 1848 Joseph Tite identified as bankrupt 14 : Austrlalia WHEREAS the Commissioner acting in the prosecution of a Fiat in Bankruptcy awarded and issued forth against Joseph Tite, of Clenham-mill, in the parish of Netherbury, in the county of Dorset, Flax and Tow Spinner, Dealer and Chapman, hath duly certified, that the said Joseph Tite hath in all things conformed himself according to the directions of the Acts of Parliament made and now in force concerning bankrupts; this is to give notice, that, by virtue of an Act, passed in the tenth and eleventh years of the reign of Her present Majesty Queen Victoria, intituled "An Act to abolish the Court, of Review in Bankruptcy, and to make alterations in the jurisdiction of the Courts of Bankruptcy and Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors," the Certificate of the said Joseph Tite will be allowed and confirmed by the Vice Chancellor of the High Court or Chancery acting in Bankruptcy, unless cause be shewn to the contrary, on or before the 14th day of April 1848. On line are the names of all the bodies reburied when the cemetery in Beaumont, South Australia was converted into Kensington Pioneer Park and the names listed on a plaque. Among the names was Joseph Tite buried 9 February 1851, born c.1797, aged 54 years. So he did get to Australia but didn't survive long there. References 1 Angela Trotman (Beaminster Museum folders), Notes about people. 2 Halstock Tithe map 3 Sherborne Mercury 6 th October 1849. 4 Beaminster Museum publication Hanging by a Thread, Our Flax and Hemp Heritage, Pg 67 8
Appendix B Griffin, Emma (2013), Liberty s Dawn. A People s History of the Industrial Revolution, Yale University Press 12 Quotes from the book: The first half of the nineteenth century was haunted by deep trade depressions, with unusually severe downturns in the winters of 1831-2 and 1841-2. (Pg 46) Factories and mills were the largest source of employment for young children, with no effective lower limits before the passage of the Ten Hours Act in 183, mills routinely hired children from the age of six. Most of these young workers entered the factories as piecers, standing at the machines repairing breaks in the thread. A few started as scavengers, crawling beneath the machinery to clear it of dirt, dust or anything else that might disturb the mechanism. Form piecing the progressed to doffers or fillers, their task being to e remove the full bobbins from the spinning machines and replace them with empty ones, As they grew older they moved to jobs of greater responsibility. (Pg 72) Before the introduction of the Ten hours Act children in factories and mines usually worked a twelve- or thirteen-hour day. (Pg 80) 9
References 1 House of Commons Parliamentary Papers On-line, 1839(41). Return of Mill and Factories which have neglected to transmit Returns to Inspectors, 1837-38: Number of Persons employed in Cotton, Woollen, Worsted, Flax and Silk Factories of United Kingdom, p176-9 2 Conveyance (Lease and Release) 1 Robert Burdett of Yeovil, Somerset, Millwright 2 George Bullock of East Coker, Somerset, sailcloth manufacturer Property: (1 and 2) a mill, once used as a water grist mill, now used as for spinning thread with the mill house, mill stream and a little garden (2r) known as Halstock Mill, together with orchard (½ a) adjoining it with a plot of ground with an outhouse and stable on the opposite side of the road in Halstock Consideration: 900-7-8 December 1809 Dorset History Centre document D.1259/1/2. 3 Title deeds: Mill, meadow, Halstock 1879 Dorset History Centre document D.1259/3 4 Dewar, H S L (1960) The Windmills, Watermills and Horse Mills, Dorset Proceedings DNHAAS, 82, Pg 128 (Appendix 1, Watermills W Dorset) 5 Halstock Tithe Map 6 Museum publication Hanging by a Thread: Our Flax and Hemp Heritage Pg 44 7 London Gazette 23 rd February 1849 8 Angela Trotman (Beaminster museum folders), Notes about people. 9 Sherborne Mercury 6 th October 1849 10 Marie Eedle s handwritten notes. Copies held in Beaminster Museum. 11 Griffin, Emma (2013), Liberty s Dawn. A People s History of the Industrial Revolution, Yale University Press 12 Sherborne Mercury 6 th October 1849. 13 Beaminster Museum publication Hanging by a Thread, Our Flax and Hemp Heritage, Pg 67 14 London Gazette 23 rd February 1849 10