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Summary

It has been suggested that this was the site of the mill at Muxbeare recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as it is located on the short stretch of the River Culm that forms the eastern boundary of Muxbeare parish. The earliest definite reference appears to be in 1692 when it is described as grist and fulling mills. By 1703 it is being described as grist and paper mills. The paper mills appear to have been ruinous by 1781 and there is no reference to paper making after this date. A century later it was a corn mill with five pairs of stones. It was destroyed by fire in 1889 and rebuilt with a combined stone and roller plant.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: ST01SE8
• Old DCC SMR Ref: ST01SE/28

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• WATERMILL (XVII to Late 20th Century - 1601 AD (Between) to 2000 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Selgar's Mill (Corn) marked. The mill building is that astride the watercourse on the southern side of the complex. To the north is a large millpond.

Shorter, A. H., 1947-1949, Paper Mills in Devon and Cornwall. Further Evidence, 197 (Article in Serial). SDV306513.

In an indenture of 1692 these mills were described as grist and fulling mills, but in 1703 as grist and paper mills. Described as ruined in 1781.

Shorter, A. H., 1950, The Historical Geography of the Paper Making Industry in Devon, 1684-1950, 210 (Article in Serial). SDV122239.

Selgars Mill, near Uffculme is known to have been operating between 1703 and 1754.

Phillips, M. C. + Wilson, R. E., 1979, Water Mills in East Devon, Part X, 118 (Article in Serial). SDV34064.

Selgars Mill. Paper and grist mills. Documentary reference to the necessity of repairing 15 hammers of the paper mill in 1754.

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, 1982, Mills Index (Un-published). SDV12998.

Working in 1965.

Bodman, M., 1998, Water-Powered Sites in Devon, 6.22 (Report - non-specific). SDV305931.

Bodman, M., 2016, Water Mills and other Water-powered Sites in Devon. Revised edition (Report - non-specific). SDV359634.

Documentary references to the mill between 1703 and 1902. Described as grist mills and paper mills in 1703. In the paper mills fifteen hammers were to be repaired in 1754 but apparently these repairs were never carried out. In 1781 the mill is described as ruinous, decayed and not worth repairing. There is no apparent reference to paper making after 1781 and a century later, in 1884, Selgars Mill was a corn mill with a waterwheel driving five pairs of stones and three dressing machines. It was destroyed by fire in 1889 and rebuilt with a combined stone and roller plant driven by a 'powerful' waterwheel.

Watts, M., 2016, Water Power in the Lower Culm valley, 232 (Article in Serial). SDV363576.

Selgar's Mill is suggested to be the possible site of the mill at Muxbeare recorded in Domesday Book of 1086; it is situated on the short stretch of the River Culm which forms the eastern boundary of Muxbeare parish.
It is first recorded in the first decade of the 18th century as being four grist mills and a paper mill. It was largely rebuilt as a corn and flour mill after a fire in 1889. The fact that the mill stands on a good site and has a substantial leat and pond suggests that it has a longer history than the published evidence suggests.

Ordnance Survey, 2023, Mastermap 2023 (Cartographic). SDV365227.

Selgar's Mill marked.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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