|
|
|
|
||
By 1701 there was a paper mill situated in Great Taynter Field, now the garden of Barcombe House. James Lopdell, a Lewes draper, owned both the paper mill, where Richard Henton, a paper maker, was working in 1701, and the corn mill. His mill was, presumably, the source of the 248 reams of paper shipped by Ambrose Galloway through Newhaven to London in 1702. Unfortunately Lopdell, who had overstretched his business interests, was declared bankrupt in 1706, and Barcombe paper mill disappears from the records. The name Taynter Field suggests that there may have been a fulling mill on the site earlier. There was another fulling mill on the North End stream by the 16th century (see TA 1131 for details of Fulling). It appears that it was not until a century later that the industry was revived in the area, undoubtedly encouraged by development of The Upper Ouse Navigation from 1790. Although the river was clearly used for transport before that date the navigation would have substantially improved the transport of goods both up and downstream. In 1802 a paper mill at The Pells, Lewes producing 'thin and thick quality writing paper' was established by Molineux, Johnstone and Lee, and was said to be 'in a state of readiness'. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly an advertisement appealed for 'a few steady women' to work at the mill. About seven years later, after the proprietors of the Upper Ouse Navigation offered 2 acres of land for sale at Isfield Lock, Molineux and Johnstone established another mill there. It was described in 1809 as very powerful and manufacturing white paper. |
||
|
||
 |
||
|
||
Paper mill at Isfield Lock c1828. The mill at The Pells in Lewes was demolished about 1825 and Isfield mill was offered for sale in 1855, when it appears to have remained unsold. 1857 saw its final demise when 'the whole of the materials, a foreman's cottage, nine cottages, stone from the watercourses and two large iron waterwheels were offered for sale.' James Pimm was a well known papermaker who was already running Dean's Mill at Lindfield when he established the paper mill at Shortsbridge (then in Barcombe) shortly after he acquired the property in 1813. The paper mill at Deans had been built in 1761 and was occupied by Francis Pim by 1773. James Pimm took over soon afterwards and, having developed the mill at Sharpsbridge, ran the two in conjunction. The mill at Sharpsbridge was for sale in 1853 when it appears the manufacture of paper had ceased. Dean's Mill ceased to operate as a paper mill at about the same time. The sale particulars in the Sussex Advertiser of 6 September 1853 describe the property which consisted of:
It appears that no buyer was found for the mill as a going concern. Certainly the hoped for railway did not prove its salvation and the mill had been demolished by 1873. Sources: |
||
|
||
|
||
Paper-making In the 18th and early 19th century rags were used as the raw material. They were cleaned, boiled and beaten into a pulp and mixed with water to the consistency of cream. A finely woven wire mold or sieve, sufficiently open to allow the water to fall through, but leave the pulp fibres on its surface, was dipped into the vat of creamy liquid and sufficient pulp taken up to make one sheet. In order to felt or interlock the fibres, a peculiar horizontal jiggling motion was given to the mould while the water was draining away. The resulting sheet or 'water leaf' was placed between sheets of woolen material. After being subjected to great pressure, the sheets were hung up to dry, and then sized with animal size (made from pieces of skin, gristle, and sometimes bones), and finally dried and surfaced by pressure or rolling. |
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
