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Summary

Site of mills near Knowle. A 1287 reference to 'mills at Knolle' provides the earliest known evidence of buildings at Knowle. Further references in 1377 when a fulling mill and corn mill are recorded and in 1399 when a corn mill is mentioned provided sound evidence of medieval milling in the area. Fulling continued into the post-medieval period and in 1713 Under Knowles was described as having a fulling mill. The tithe map depicts a substantial building on the application site, but this had been demolished before 1884 when the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map for this area was published. The recent groundwork has confirmed that only the very ephemeral remains of the building complex that stood at this location in the early 19th century have survived.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56NW58
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1519214

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CORN MILL (First mentioned, Unknown to XIX (Pre))
• FULLING MILL (First mentioned, Unknown to XIX (Pre))
• WATERMILL (First mentioned, Unknown to XIX (Pre))

Full description

Gerrard, S., 1993-2010, Monument Protection Programme Alternative Action Report (Report - non-specific). SDV145710.

(Report dated 06/04/2010) A 1287 reference to ‘mills at Knolle’ provides the earliest known evidence of buildings at Knowle. Further references in 1377 when a fulling mill and corn mill are recorded and in 1399 when a corn mill is mentioned provided sound evidence of medieval milling in the area. Fulling continued into the post-medieval period and in 1713 Under Knowles was described as having a fulling mill. The tithe map depicts a substantial building on the application site, but this had been demolished before 1884 when the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map for this area was published. No visible remains of the building shown on the tithe map are known to have survived prior to the recent groundwork. Removal of the topsoil in the area has revealed a stone built drain or culvert, a spread of building rubble containing only post-medieval artefacts and a small area of cobbling. All three of these features are likely to form the residual remains of the building depicted on the tithe map. All the features were encountered between 5cm and 10cm below the turf indicating very little stratigraphic depth. Within a significant proportion of the site, subsoil was exposed. The culvert survives as a narrow lined structure, cut into the subsoil and leads from south east to north west across the site. The full extent of the cobbled surface is not known but where visible it survives as tightly packed cobbles set into the ground on their long axis. Historical evidence points to considerable medieval and post-activity at Knowle, however insufficient evidence survives to indicate precisely and with certainty its full extent and degree of survival. The area exposed by recent groundwork has revealed the area where a substantial building is known to have stood in the early part of the 19th century. This work has however indicated that the robbing of the building was very thorough and very little remains of the original structure. The culvert exposed is very similar to one revealed a short distance to the south and has been interpreted as a field drain. The building rubble contains some early 20th century material indicating that it may have derived from elsewhere and therefore has nothing to do with the building that once stood here. The survival of the cobbled surface confirms that this is the site of the building. More importantly the fact that no associated walling was encountered illustrates the substantial degree of robbing that has occurred. Extending over a significant proportion of the site is subsoil and clearly there is no archaeological potential within these areas. The possibility of structures and features surviving within the vicinity cannot be ruled out however because the precise position, extent and character of these remains can not currently be determined, they cannot be assessed or mapped and therefore can not be considered for designation. The recent groundwork has confirmed that only the very ephemeral remains of the building complex that stood at this location in the early 19th century have survived. There is very little potential for surviving nationally important archaeological deposits, features or structures and therefore the site should not be recommended for scheduling (Report not seen; detail from NRHE record).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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