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Summary

A mill site since at least the 14th century, used for corn, fulling and finally papermaking over a much expanded area; the North Board Mill was demolished in 2001

Monument Type(s):

• WATERMILL (14th century to 15th century - 1367 AD to 1500 AD?)
• FULLING MILL (16th century to 17th century - 1541 AD to 1650 AD?)
• CORN MILL (17th century to 18th century - 1651 AD? to 1740 AD?)
• PAPER MILL (18th century to First World War - 1740 AD? to 1918 AD)

Full Description

Colthrop has most likely been a mill site since Domesday (though the placename is not mentioned), used variously for corn, fulling and finally papermaking <3>. The place 'Coldthorp' (sic) is marked on Rocque's 1761 map <14> with what could be the large mill building schematically depicted by the canalised river where two loops run to the north and south of the Kennet. The early 19th century Ordnance Survey Drawing <8> names 'Coldrop (sic) Mills' here, and the First Edition Ordnance Survey mapping <15> shows a long narrow building marked as a paper mill adjacent to the lock.

There are several references in the volumes of the Victoria County History to milling at Colthrop. The first reference to the mill appears in 1376 <13>, and it passed with the manor to Winchester College. Two mills were built in 1472; it is suggested one was the old corn mill and the other the fulling mill, documented by 1540 <11><12><13>. In 1689 two corn mills were included in a settlement of the manor, the fulling mill perhaps having been converted after the down turn in the cloth trade <13>. The mills were replaced by a paper mill by 1799 <13>. Apparently a Frenchman named Fourdrinier who had invented the paper machine, lived at the dwelling house at the mill <11>. In 1906 the owner was reported as Mr John Henry, 'who with the assistance of his sons has worked it for nearly half a century. The paper made here is chiefly brown paper and other kinds of paper and paper bags used by grocers, drapers and warehousemen' <11>.

A brief history of the early stages of milling at Colthrop, and a more detailed account of the papermaking industry has been compiled <1>. Photographs were taken in 2001 prior to the demolition of the 20th century North Board Mill <5>, north of the railway line, but much of the mill complex seems to have been relatively poorly documented.

The GIS polygon for the location of the buildings variously named as Colthrop Mills is an approximate area, based on historic mapping.

West Berkshire Museum has a set of photographs showing the board mill in the late 20th century <16>.

On 9 March 1935, Frank Close, a Yorkshireman who worked at the Colthrop paper mill, won the National Cross Country Championships before taking part in the famous 1936 Berlin Olympic Games <19><20>.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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