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Summary

Site of one of the earliest hydroelectric power schemes for public supply in Britain was opened in Chagford in 1891. It was converted from part of a disused woollen mill (MDV21305) with a c.5 metre diameter waterwheel driven by water from a leat off the river Teign quarter of a mile upstream from Chagford Bridge. In 1914 a 30hp turbine replaced the waterwheel and with further modifications the installation remained in use until 1994.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68NE/304

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATION (Constructed, XIX - 1891 AD (Between) to 1891 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Trueman, M., 1994 - 1998, Electric Power Generation, Step 1, Step 3 & Step 3 Report Update (Report - non-specific). SDV335661.

Chagford Hydro Electric Power Station. Village supply from hydro-electric scheme set in a former woollen mill. Named by Tucker as one of the earliest hydro-electric schemes for public supply in Britain. Set up in 1891 by the Chagford and Devon Electric Light Co. powered by water-wheel, later gas engine added.
The ruinous mill building should be priority for recording. The leat is in excellent condition and maintained in relation to a small modern hydro-electric station located west of the mill.

Harris, W. B., 1995, Hydro-Electricity in Devon: Past, Present and Future, 259-286 (Article in Serial). SDV125385.

Probable site of one of the earliest hydroelectric power schemes opened in Chagford in September 1891. It was converted from part of a disused woollen mill with a c.5m diameter waterwheel driven by water from a leat off the River Teign quarter of a mile upstream from Chagford Bridge. In 1914 a 30hp turbine replaced the waterwheel and with further modifications the installation remained in use until 1994.

Chitty, G., 2000, Electric Power Generation, Step 4 Report, Monument Protection Programme (Report - non-specific). SDV335660.

(-/6/2000) Site of early hydro-electric power installation which occupied a converted woollen mill from 1891. The layout of the water supply system is reasonably well preserved but only ruins survive of the associated building. The site is principally of regional interest as an early local scheme for supply and the water supply features relate primarily to the pre-existing mill. One of four extant stations of The West Devon Electricity Supply Co.

Bodman, M., 2015, Mills on the Teign. A gazetteer of water-powered sites on the Teign and Bovey and their tributaries, 62-63 (Monograph). SDV360401.

Higher Factory was later used as a saw mill and the waterwheel was also used to generate electricity; from 1891 Chagford benefitted from street lighting - one of the first places in Devon to have night time lighting. In 1914 the waterwheel was replaced by a turbine. From 1930 the enterprise was absorbed into The West Devon Electricity Sup[ply Company, with upgrades in 1940 and 1948. In 1967, the Chagford unit was connected to the national grid.
Ruins of the old mill buildings remain; a newer structure now houses a modern crossflow turbine installed in 2014.

Ordnance Survey, 2024, Mastermap 2024 (Cartographic). SDV365834.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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