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Summary

The ruins of Fingle Mill; th site of two mills, which burnt down in July 1894, lie downstream from Fingle Bridge. A weir on the Teign to the west diverted water to the mills; the line of the leat is still traceable. A grain mill and a fulling mill existed here in 1639; these were both fulling mills by the mid-18th century. The site was surveyed in around 1790; at this time the two mills were described as Fingle Mill and East Fingle. East Fingle was the fulling mill and Fingle Mill had been converted to a grist mill. The fulling mill probably ceased work by 1810 / 1815.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Ruins of Fingle Mill and associated leat south-east of Fingle Bridge, as well as weir to the west

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX78NW/35
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CORN MILL (Built, XVII to XIX - 1630 AD (Between) to 1894 AD (Between))
• FULLING MILL (Built, XVII to XIX - 1630 AD (Between) to 1894 AD (Between))
• WATER WHEEL (Built, XVII to XIX - 1639 AD (Between) to 1894 AD (Between))
• WATERMILL (Built, XVII to XIX - 1639 AD (Between) to 1894 AD (Between))

Full description

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

Fingle Mill (Corn) marked on 1880s-1890s 25 inch Ordnance Survey map. The waterwheel on the downstream side of a Sluice is clearly depicted on the side of the mill building.

Harris, H., 1968, Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor, 209 (Monograph). SDV149229.

The ruins of Fingle Mill lie downstream from Fingle Bridge. Amongst them are metal parts of the machinery. The mill burnt down in the 1890s.

Devon County Council, 1974, Survey of Watermills in Devon: Gazetteer (Report - Survey). SDV83967.

Mill now a ruin.

National Trust, 1982, Castle Drogo (Leaflet). SDV277065.

The mill was destroyed by fire in 1894. The leat for the wheel is still traceable to a weir above Fingle Bridge.

Greeves, T., 1984, Mill (Worksheet). SDV305856.

Site visit 23rd March 1984. Two sections of waterwheel lie in the wheelpit and tailrace, one of which has the name DICKER CHAGFORD on it. In the river, about 40 metres above Fingle Bridge is a boulder with an inscription upon it which appers to read H C BRELY.
The mill was burnt down in July 1894. The last miller was called Parr and following the fire the family moved to Gunstone Mills near Crediton. Parr's predecessor was William Brely. He is depicted in a painting of the mill in the Angler's Rest, which also has a late 19th century photograph of the mill.

McCrone, P., 1985, An Archaeological Survey of Some Dartmoor Woodlands, 25-6, fig 11-13 (Report - Survey). SDV360479.

Fingle Mill - SX 7447 8976
Remains of a mill burned down in the 1890s. The mill leat can still be traced from a head weir at SX 7408 8976 but is partly obliterated by a modern car park. IN the leat lie the iron hubs of the mill wheel which was manufactured by a Chagford firm named Dicker. The mill seems to have consisted of three ground floor rooms with a house adjoining to the south. The central room of the three appears to have been formed by walling up the gap between two separate buildings as straight joints can be seen in the masonry (fig 13). The house had two ground floor rooms, both with fireplace and one with an oven adjoining the fireplace. The 1790 estate map records several buildings in the mill complex, including a house with grist mill, a house, linhay and garden, and a fulling mill. One of these, astride the leat, may be the fulling mill (DRO/1508M/Surveys V5, pg. 25). The site of this may be indicated by a stony mound and stony area.
The presence of quantities of iron slag in the riverbank and beside the leat probably indicates that iron smelting was carried out at some time. The stony area marked on the plan (fig 12) may indicate the presence of an earlier building on the site.
There exist some illustrations of the mill before it burned down. One of these, a painting executed in the 1880s, hangs in the 'Angler's Rest' at Fingle Mill. The National Park Authority has a copy of a pencil sketch executed between 1860 and 1876, and several photographs of a painting of unknown date. The sketch shows a two storey, thatched building with a undershot mill wheel and the painting, executed from the north, shows two mill wheels in tandem and a thatched building to the east of the mill which could be the fulling mill. (DNP Index, BM7-10).

Bodman, M., 1998, Water-Powered Sites in Devon, 39.36 (Report - non-specific). SDV305931.

Swete, J. (ed. Gray T. + Rowe, M.), 2000, Travels in Georgian Devon. The Illustrated Journals of the Reverend John Swete. Vol. 4, 32 (Monograph). SDV339713.

Referred to in passing in a tour of Dartmoor in 1797. Swete mentions the mill, calling it a Grist Mill.

Bodman, M., 2003, Watermills and Other Water-Powered Sites in Devon, 279 (Report - Interim). SDV325576.

Fingle Mill is mentioned in a bequest of 1747 and in a lease of 1769. An insurance policy of 1782 refers to a'Millhouse, two Fulling Mills, Water Wheels and materials at Fingle in the parish of Moretonhampstead'. The building of stone, cob, timbered and thatched is valued at £50.

Ordnance Survey, 2012, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV348725.

Bodman, M., 2015, Mills on the Teign. A gazetteer of water-powered sites on the Teign and Bovey and their tributaries, 53 (Monograph). SDV360401.

Fingle Mill SX 7456 8975. A weir on the Teign tp the west diverted water to the mills. Grain mill and a fulling mill existed here in 1639; these were both fulling mills by the mid-18th century. Details of millers and history of the site given. As part of the Earl of Devon's estates, the site was surveyed in around 1790; at this time the two mills were described as Fingle Mill and East Fingle. East Fingle was the fulling mill and Fingle Mill had been converted to a grist mill. The fulling mill probably ceased work by 1810 / 1815. Further milling history throughout the 19th century noted and a pre-1894 photograph of the mill; it burnt down in July 1894. Ruins described and arrangement of the two mills and waterwheels.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6046 - Archaeological Survey of National Trust Teign Valley Properties (Ref: 6764)
• EDV7430 - Woodland Survey (1985) in Wray Cleave, Sanduck Wood, Caseley Wood, Kings Wood and Fingle Woods

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