Building record 1032/1 - Oulton Mill

<1> Various, Cheshire History, vol.11 p.55 Bott O J P (Journal/Periodical). SCH811.

Corn Mill recorded 1187-1286: A later building survives, but no machinery.

<2> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 57216 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Mill building. Dated on iron date plaque 1781. Red random bond brick with slate roof. Two storeys to road front, four storeys to rear. Road front: Central loading bay with double doors having cambered wooden lintel and a loading stage above and another double door above this with a gabled winch-cover above. To either side are 3-light ground floor windows with sloping sills and cambered heads. The first floor windows are similar with gables over. The rear has a projecting wing to the centre and an outshut at the right hand side. The left hand gable end has a door at the level of the uppermost floor approached by steps from the road and the iron date plate bearing the Egerton crest of three arrows. Interior: The floors and hatches survive, but no machinery.

<3> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, vol.68 p.75-6 Norris J H 1965 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

Three storey brick building with two water wheels, probably of overshot type, removed by 1965. Fine pool with a road along the dam, against which the mill is built. There is a covered loading way onto the road.

<4> Williams SR, 1970s-1980s, Rhys Williams' Aerial Photographs, Rushton 4 Williams S R 1981 (Aerial Photograph). SCH4607.

<5> Ashmore, O, 1982, The Industrial Archaeology of North West England, p.43 (Book). SCH3181.

<6> Burdett, P. P., 1777, A Survey of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH113.

Depicts a mill.

<7> Greenwood, C. & Greenwood J., 1819, Map of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH2115.

Depicts this mill.

<8> Swire, W. & Hutchings, W. F., 1830, Map of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH2116.

Depicts this mill.

<9> Bryant, A., 1831, Map of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH2114.

Depicts this mill.

<10> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, EDT 150/4 1837 (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

Depicts this mill.

<11> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, vol.III p.291 (Book). SCH3228.

First mentioned 1257. Later references in 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.

<12> Gifford and Partners, 1996, Draft Report on an Archaeological Survey at Oulton Mill, Beech Lane, Little Budworth, Cheshire. (Client Report). SCH4079.

Identified a number of original features which survived prior to the conversion of the buildings to housing. These included wheel scribe marks for the two wheels originally housed in the wheel pit.

<13> Gifford and Partners, 1997, Report on an Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment of Oulton Mill, Beech Lane, Little Budworth, Cheshire, p.11 (Client Report). SCH4041.

The mill is set against the mill dam so that the front, which faces the delivery road developed along the top of the dam. Here two stories are visible, whereas to the rear there are four (the lower two being obscured by the dam from the front elevation). Typically the ground floor would contain the gearing, the first floor the machinery, the second floor the granary and the fourth for storage. The combination of four floors and split levels meant that corn could be delivered to the front and directly unloaded to the granary at third floor level whilst flour was loaded up through hatches to the rear at ground level. Evidence for this is still retained with the present structure.

Since the mills construction in 1781, cartographic evidence suggested that it has not been significantly altered, however a fire in 1989 had destroyed the roof, the central loading bay, the loading bay above and the much of the internal flooring. Redevelopment in the late 1990s saw the removal of fire damaged timbers, reconstruction of elements of the north-west elevation and internal brickwork and the reduction of the extensions either side of the projecting wing, and to the south-east of the main body of the mill, to ground level. The roof of the projecting wing and part of its gable end were also removed due to health and saftey concerns. The 34 elements highlighted as significant in the 1996 survey (see 12) remained intact, but 14 were believed to be threated by the development. Report includes a good selection of photographs.

<14> Gifford and Partners, 1998, Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief at Oulton Mill, Little Budworth, Cheshire, p.3 & 4 (Client Report). SCH3985.

A trench situated between the south-western elevation of the mill building and the mill dams revetment wall revealed a c.0.55m layer which contained whole and half bricks. This was interpreted as debris associated with the construction of the mill building. From a trench excavated against the north-east elevation finds indicated a substantial post medieval demolition layers beneath or the mill building. In addittion, waterlogged conditions had preserved a number of worked timbers which appeared to have formed part of a mechanism probably associated with the internal workings of the mill.

<15> Historic England, From 2015, Notification of inclusion, amendment or removal from the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Bishop M, 18/05/2017 (Written Communication). SCH7787.

The building was subject to a severe fire, leading to the loss of the roof structure, all floors, stairs and internal fittings; fire-damaged walls were subsequently largely taken down to first-floor level and the mill was rebuilt as two dwellings. Some original features were retained or incorporated in the re-built structure including some fire damaged beams, a cast-iron plaque in the north-east gable, the sandstone ground-floor walls, sandstone arches to the south-west and south-east ground-floor of the main-range and the north-east elevation of the rear-range, and some short lengths of original brick walling. Not-with-standing the retention of some of the original fabric, the building has undergone a very significant degree of alteration. Internally, new rooms and stair positions have been created to convert the shell of the mill to modern dwellings.