# Ham Mill, Stroud - 03/2009



## clebby (Mar 15, 2009)

First and foremost, a huge thanks has to go out to the very friendly manager of the site who kindly showed us in - so thank you :thumb

I *do not* recommend you try to visit this site without permission - seriously, don't. I didn't even know this place existed until I happened to cycle by earlier. I had no intention of going in, I was only looking for a vacant site for a business project, but the site manager kindly offered us a tour so we happily accepted.

Ham Mill in Thrupp, near Stroud, was originally founded in 1608 to manufacture the red fabric used in British Soldiers coats. In 1634 it was sold to Samuel Webb, and it continued to produce cloth throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. By 1846 it was used partly as a saw mill, but clothmaking continued in the 1850's. In 1900, the mill was sold to carpet weaver's Bond Worth, who used it as their "Carpet Yarn Spinning Division". They left the site for good in 2000, and it has since lain derelict.

Ham Mill is in a unique valley, in a which a road, river, canal and railway all run parallel to eachother. The canal has the remains of a dock for Ham Mill, where barges could deliver wool. The Mill also had its own railway siding called "Ham Mill Halt" whch was removed in November 1964. There is also a mill race that goes under the building, as it was originally powered by 3 water wheels.

The main 5 storey mill building dates from 1834 and is listed, as well as the gate house. The manager is currently in the process of fixing the roof, protecting the windows and fixing up the site to prevent any further decay.

This is the first view of the mill from the London Road...







The main mill building, which was used for cloth storage, is in the process of part-restoration.






The manager kindly unbolted the door for us, which led into the store room.










A steep wooden staircase led upstairs.










On the first floor there was a first aid room and what looked like a kitchenette.






The old mill building is split in two parts - A 5 storey building and a longer, lower building off to the side, which differed slightly to to the rest.






In the corner there were some trolleys full of, what I assume was, reels for cotton.






Up another floor, there was a large piece of original machinery which was next to the staircase.






It was presumably used to winch bales up the side of the building, as there were several doorways up the side for loading.






The side building has a fantastic pitched roof.






Up another level, there were some of the original hoist machanisms used to lift fabric round the building.






The large windows let sunlight spill across the floors, which made the entire building very tranquil.














There was also a fantastic view from the top over the mill pond.






The top floor was much smaller as it was within the roof.






It also contained some more of the old hoist mechanism.






This is the bridge over the canal at the rear of the site. The dock was situated just behind the bridge. The railway is up the hill to the right.






Once again, a huge thanks goes to the man who showed us in, and also offered us a wealth of knowledge about the site.


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## ricasso (Mar 15, 2009)

Well done Clebby, good to see you made it, that's a good ,concise explore,some fine photography and some interesting machinery.
Am i right in thinking there is more potential in the same area? its been a while since ive been down there.


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## clebby (Mar 15, 2009)

definitely, we actually saw a large disused mill in brimscombe earlier and a big factory out by brimscombe port. im going to have to try again...


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## Foxylady (Mar 15, 2009)

What a beautiful building! The shots of the windows with the sun streaming through are truly delightful.
Fantastic find, Clebby. Well done.


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## Trinpaul (Mar 15, 2009)

Founded in 1608  It's wonderful to see that it's still around  Great pics and a fantastic find


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## clebby (Mar 15, 2009)

trinpaul, the current mill building dates from 1834


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## Toothillian (Mar 2, 2010)

I've driven trains past here for many years now, obviously it was working when I started, so it's nice to get a bit of history to the place as it'll alter my experience of the trip. An excellent thread Clebby, thank you very much and I hope you found what you were looking for.


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