Thwaite Mills...The Early Days
The location of Thwaite Mills has meant it has been a well used site for a number of years, due to its closeness to the river where large waterwheels have powered the site.
In 1641....
In 1641 a fulling mill was built at Thwaite. Little is known about this mill, except that is consisted of 8 fulling stocks and 4 waterwheels. The process of fulling is one of the final stages in the manufacture of woollen cloth, being carried out after the wool had been spun and woven into cloth. Large water-powered hammers (fulling stocks) pounded the woven fabric in fuller’s earth and urine in order to matt the fibres together.
Rebuilding the mills, 1823-25
By the 1820s, the Aire and Calder Navigation Co had purchased the Mills at Thwaite and had decided to rebuild the whole site. Thomas Hewes, a well known mill builder of the day and mill wright, was asked to construct two new large waterwheels and also to advise on the rebuilding of the mill itself.
The rebuilding took two years to complete, and the work came to a total cost of £15,876 – a lot of money in those days! When finished, the new site consisted of a 2-storey mill building with attic, an engineers’ workshop, warehouse, stables, dwelling house and a row of workers’ cottages.
These are the buildings that can be seen on the tour today, with the exception of the workers’ cottages which were demolished in 1968.