Monument record 1669/1 - Oldcastle Mill

<1> Bott O J P, 1983, Cornmill sites in Cheshire 1066-1850 Part 2, p.61 (Article in Journal). SCH6105.

Oldcastle Mill on the Wych Brook, south-west of Malpas. The post medieval mill building survives with two waterwheels in poor condition.

<2> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol. II, p.666 (Book). SCH1389.

<3> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, Vol. IV, p.44 (Book). SCH3228.

A watermill is first mentioned here in 1357 and Oldecastelmulne is mentioned in 1362 (see 2). On (5) the mill is named Alports Mill, after the manorial lords of Overton.

<4> Norris J.H., 1968, The Water-Powered Corn Mills of Cheshire, p.58 (Article in Journal). SCH6001.

The post medieval mill building survives as a 3-storey brick and slated mill with two waterwheels. The building is now semi-derelict and the overshot waterwheels are overgrown and the wheel pits partly filled with rubbish. The east wheel is 14ft x 5ft and all of iron, with iron round spokes attached to both the hubs and rims. The gearing is of iron, but on the first floor the upright shaft is made of wood and drives a wooden sack hoist. The west wheel is also 14ft x 5ft and is of iron but with wooden spokes. There were two pairs of stones to each wheel. There is a good leat which fed into the pond, into which was also directed a small brook.

<5> Bryant, A., 1831, Map of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH2114.

<6> Ordnance Survey, 1909-1912, Ordnance Survey Second Revision County Series (Epoch 3) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ4644, 1911-1912 (Maps and Plans). SCH4361.

Labelled as a flour mill. Appears to be still operational.

<7> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, edwards R, 29/07/2016 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

The mill building has been renovated as a domestic dwelling.

<8> J Kenneth Major, 1994, Oldcastle Mill, Oldcastle Estate, Cheshire: On-site Survey (Client Report). SCH6598.

A survey was undertaken of Oldcastle Mill and the surviving machinery in 1994 in advance of a programme of renovations. The mill sits below a dam which lies across a natural valley served by two springs, however, the principal water supply for the mill was brought about half a mile to the east from a weir on the Wych Brook. The earthworks forming the leat run along the foot of the slope which forms the north side of the valley. The dam has three openings at the mill; the eastern one is the escape by which the spring-fed streams are diverted away from the mill, and the other two are the openings by which water was led on to the waterwheels.

The mill building is a double-storeyed building of brick with a slate roof. The mill contained two water wheels. The west waterwheel is an overshot wheel 10ft in diameter and 5ft 9in wide. The iron waterwheel shaft entered the west gable wall 6in below ground floor level. Its two cast iron rims carried 20 wooden buckets. The east waterwheel is also overshot but different in dimensions being 9ft 6in in diameter and 6ft 6in in width. It carried 24 sheet iron buckets.

The purpose of the western wheel was to drive the two pairs of millstones on the first floor. These are 4ft 6in diameter and French. A further pair of millstones were evident in the south-west corner of the mill, these are again French and are 4ft 4in in diameter. The north-west pair of millstones are conglomerate stones, possibly from the quarries on Anglesey. All the millstone furniture has gone. Elements of the sack hoist were present and there was also the remains of a wire brushing machine on the first floor.

Within the fabric of the ground floor of the mill building graffiti is evident. One date of '168(8?)' with the initials 'I H' in 17th century capitals can be seen behind the bridge post of the west millwork. Also in a prominent position is the date '1872' with the initials 'T.W', and adjacent to that, the date '1871'. It is thought these are positive signatures, not the result of vandalism. The 1872 date possibly represent the addition of the east millwork.

At the time of the survey in 1994 the mill was not in good condition; the roof had large holes allowing water ingress which had led to decay of beams and floorboards. No windows or doors were in place and some lintels had collapsed. No ladders survived. The brickwork was also in poor condition in places with badly burnt bricks which had eroded. The millwork was rusty and the two waterwheels in need of excavating and renovation.

<9> Cheshire County Council, 1990-93, Correspondence and survey relating to the potential listing of Oldcastle Mill (Written Communication). SCH8067.

A listing survey of Oldcastle Mill undertaken in 1990 by Oliver Bott, together with correspondence, dating to 1993, between the Council and English Heritage, relating to the potential listing of the building. However, it is not clear whether the mill was in fact ever listed as a result. It is not listed now.

<10> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 2010, Construction of a new Extension at Old Castle Mill, Malpas, Cheshire: Watching brief and Rapid Archaeological Investigation (Client Report). SCH5273.

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken at Oldcastle Mill in March 2010 during the construction of an extension to the mill building. It revealed evidence of the former brick-lined wheelpit located on the west side of the mill (the wheel on the eastern side of the mill is extant and has been restored as a feature). There were possible traces of an earlier phase in the form of sandstone footings which were visible at the base of the west retaining wall of the wheel pit, with the later brick wall over.