Description

BELBROUGHTON

1649/0/10011 GALTONS LANE
20-AUG-07 Waterwheel at Galton's Mill

II
Cast iron overshot waterwheel manufactured in 1793 for Samuel Galton by the Cookley Foundry. The wheel which is 4.3m in diameter and 1.3m wide has an octagonal shaft and eight spokes at each end supporting an outer wheel with buckets formed by cast iron sheets bolted to the wheel frame. The underside of the wheel was originally covered by a series of wooden planks, some of which remain, and these prevented the water escaping through the lower part of the bucket. Water was delivered to the wheel along a launder which has been truncated. The launder was supplied with water via a cast iron penstock bearing the inscription "CAST AT COOKLEY 1793". The penstock itself is connected to a rectangular pipe (pentrough) leading from the nearby mill pond. The mechanism for controlling the gate in the penstock was added sometime in the C19, and is attached to the upper rim of the penstock and was controlled via a long rod leading into the grinding shop. The primary drive gear is attached to the western end of the wheel's octagonal shaft and survives as a nearly complete wheel with a series of fine cogs around the outer circumference. Both wheels sit within brick built pits. The wall to the eastern side of the waterwheel is of brick construction topped with modern decorative slabs and has three separate cambered openings at ground level. The largest of these was built to provide access for the wheel axle to the bearing block. The other two openings would have provided access for maintenance.
The mill buildings themselves are not of special interest.

HISTORY: A mill is known to have occupied this site since at least the C18 at which time it was known as Savage's Mill. Around 1793 it was taken over by Samuel Galton who converted it to grind musket barrels. The waterwheel belongs to this refurbishment and was cast at the Cookley Foundry. From the mid C19 until the 1940's the mill was employed to grind scythes. The mill was subsequently modernised and extended to form office accommodation in the early part of the C21.

SOURCES: Unpublished research by Midland Wind & Water Mills Group.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: The Waterwheel at Galton's Mill represents a particularly well documented, rare survival of a late C18 form of cast iron wheel with metal buckets. The wheel survives extremely well and is associated with a contemporary penstock and pentrough, both of which also provide evidence of late C18 technological innovations.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671440

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair