Historic Watermill Landscapes: A National Overview
Author(s): Magnus Alexander
Note that this report summarises the position at the end of 2017 and makes no attempt to anticipate changes in legislation or guidance. Rather than watermill buildings themselves being the focus, this study concentrates on the water management systems that deliver water to the mill, and take it away again, in such a fashion as to allow useful work to be done, and to manage the water when it is not required. It describes the key elements of watermill landscapes, their associations and connections, and examines the factors affecting their significance. These assets include weirs, dams, sluice-gates, leats, and ponds, not to mention a broad range of secondary associations such as granaries, breweries, and bridges, and more remote interconnections defined, for example, by regional industries. The review emphasises the importance of the interrelationships between these assets, connected as they are by the flow of water. Watermill landscapes are perhaps the embodiment of the phrase ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. The resource has been assessed by examining a range of Historic England datasets but this primarily highlighted complexities within the data making it difficult to obtain a comprehensive overview of these assets and their landscapes. As things stand, such an overview would require a fundamental reassessment of the underlying Historic England data and a comparison made with information held in local Historic Environment Records (HERs), a task beyond this project. Such a review would, however, be beneficial in understanding what might be most significant and underpin decisions relating to designation and/or management. At present such decisions are largely based upon local knowledge. The threats and opportunities facing watermill landscapes are then discussed. These range from the global (climate change) to the local (development) to the mill building itself (reuse for micro-hydroelectricity generation). Once again this underlines their complexity and interconnectivity, but an attempt is been made to highlight areas where opportunities lie.
- Report Number:
- 17/2018
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 87
- Keywords:
- Medieval Post Medieval Review
