The Old Fulling Mill, New Alresford, Hampshire
The Fulling Mill straddles the River Alre which passes underneath it. It dates from the 13th century, although the present structure is largely 17th century. It is now a private house and it was saved from dereliction in 1951 when it was renovated and the now beautiful garden laid out. It had become derelict having fallen into disuse in the 19th century when the cloth industry established large mills to undertake an increasingly mechanised process taking all of the business from established local mills.
The fulling of cloth is a process to tighten and shrink the cloth into a closely woven product. In early times the pressing and kneading was done by human feet, in shallow streams, using fullers earth. By medieval times water power was being used to drive hammers to do the work once done by human feet. The water mills constructed for this purposes were known as fulling mills and for centuries the surrounding area resounded to the hammering of the fulling stocks as they prepared the cloth.
The River Alre (sometimes spelt Arle) is a classic chalk stream of crystal clear water. It is a tributary of the River Itchen, which it joins just downstream of the town of New Alresford.
The Old Fulling Mill, New Alresford, Hampshire
The Fulling Mill straddles the River Alre which passes underneath it. It dates from the 13th century, although the present structure is largely 17th century. It is now a private house and it was saved from dereliction in 1951 when it was renovated and the now beautiful garden laid out. It had become derelict having fallen into disuse in the 19th century when the cloth industry established large mills to undertake an increasingly mechanised process taking all of the business from established local mills.
The fulling of cloth is a process to tighten and shrink the cloth into a closely woven product. In early times the pressing and kneading was done by human feet, in shallow streams, using fullers earth. By medieval times water power was being used to drive hammers to do the work once done by human feet. The water mills constructed for this purposes were known as fulling mills and for centuries the surrounding area resounded to the hammering of the fulling stocks as they prepared the cloth.
The River Alre (sometimes spelt Arle) is a classic chalk stream of crystal clear water. It is a tributary of the River Itchen, which it joins just downstream of the town of New Alresford.