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Summary

Site of a paper mill which was operating in the 18th and earlier 19th century. The leat astride which the mill is shown on the Tithe Map survives as a mainly dry channel. There are documentary references from 1706 but it is not always clear if they are referring to Higher or Lower Mills.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX99NE/71

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PAPER MILL (Built, XVIII - 1701 AD (Between) to 1800 AD (Between))

Full description

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848 (Cartographic). SDV349431.

Two buildings, marked as Lower Mills. One of the buildings is astride the leat.

Curzon, F., 1851, Lays and Legends in the West, 32 (Monograph). SDV134915.

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

Buildings no longer extant.

Jenkins, R., 1928-1929, Paper Mills in Devon, 130 (Article in Serial). SDV23038.

Said to be the earliest mills in Devon, though the statement by Curzon suggesting they were the earliest in England is probably incorrect.

Shorter, A. H., 1938 - 1939, Paper Mills in Devon, 35 (Article in Serial). SDV85082.

Shorter, A. H., 1947-1949, Paper Mills in Devon and Cornwall, 101 (Article in Serial). SDV23037.

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

According to Shorter, there were two paper mills at Huxham, one known to be operating between 1774 and 1890 using a paper making machine, and one operating between 1770 and 1860 without a machine.

Shorter, A. H., 1950 - 1951, Paper Mills in Devon and Cornwall, 221-222 (Article in Serial). SDV97329.

An advertisement in The Post Man" of 16th May 1706 refers to a new white paper mill for sale. Shorter reproduces a summary of the description which includes an inventory of the equipment in it.

Robinson, R., 1990, Paper Mills (Worksheet). SDV134907.

The Tithe Map of 1837 shows two paper mills, Higher and Lower. The earliest reference found is to a disastrous fire in 1774 but the article, in the Exeter Flying Post, does not specify which mill. A list of references to Huxham Mills in the Exeter Flying Post and in 19th century directories is given.
Site visit to Lower Mills: 1st November 1990. No trace of buildings here, but the leat astride which the mill lies on the Tithe Map survives as a broad, flat-bottomed mainly dry channel.

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

Bodman, M., 2016, Water Mills and other Water-powered Sites in Devon. Revised edition, 73-74 (Report - non-specific). SDV359634.

Documentary references to paper mills at Huxham from 1706 - 1885. Both the Upper and Lower Mills are shown on the Tithe Map of 1837 and are named in Whites Directory of 1850.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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