The St John’s Mill The St John’s Mill Restoration Project Restoration Project 2001 July 2009 2001 –– 1st July 2009
0ur thanks for the outstanding contribution that individuals and organisations have made towards the completion of this project and to the many others who have helped, donated and encouraged them.
St John’s Mill The present Mill buildings indicate clearly a continuous process of development over at least 200 years. It is probable that the existing centre section of the building was the original mill and that it was constructed as a two storey building with an external breastshot wheel fed from above the weir in the Neb situated just below Ballig Bridge. The latest date for construction presently identified is 1816 on the plate of the fulling stocks, but it is probable that this central part of the building is much older. The Mill was extended considerably in 1846 as evidenced by the plate above the first floor loading doors. This extension included building out over the waterwheel on the north elevation so that it became an internal wheel and a major extension of the first floor and a new second floor and weaving loft, which has a traditional north facing weaver’s window.
The Water Wheel The wheel may originally have been a single wheel to power a small mill, but the major extension in 1846 would probably have been the context for the present ‘double’ wheel to be installed. It is a breastshot wheel with the water entering at ‘10.00 o’clock’ and the wheel turning anticlockwise.
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The central shaft would have driven the fulling stocks or ‘feet’ as well as being linked to a network of belts and shafts providing power to the equipment on all four floors of the Mill. The regional names for this process vary and the Manx probably knew it as a Tuck Mill as the founder of the business Tom Moore Snr. was known as ‘Tucker’ Moore. The woollen mill moved to the main Tynwald Mills site during the 1920’s and it is probable that little production took place after the second world war although white woollen blankets were dried and bleached outside in the tenterfield until the mid 1970’s. Once the wool tweed fabric had been woven it needed to be fulled in order to clean and stabilise the fabric before garments were cut from it. This process was originally done by pounding the fabric with human feet before the introduction of the mechanical process.
The Fulling Stocks The fulling stocks are the only stocks of their type remaining in the Isle of Man ( and probably in the UK ). They appear to be typical of the type constructed in the late 18th and early 19th century. A plate on the stocks with the date 1816 suggests the m o s t p r o b a b l e d a te o f installation and indicates that they were manufactured at Kirkstall Forge in Leeds. The late Dr Larch Garrard has suggested that the second pair of hammers which are vertically hung to the back right of the room are more primitive and that they were relocated at this time. Fulling Mills were once the second most common industrial process in the UK after corn mills. There were hundreds of fulling mills throughout the UK and it would appear that St John’s Mill could be the only mill in Britain to have retained a substantial part of its original machinery in its original location and configuration. After mixing water and the cleaning agent together, the cloth was pounded by the ‘feet’. The amount of fulling required for a particular cloth was part of the skill of the fuller. It depended on the type of wool, the type of water, the cloth texture, the temperature of the water and the time allowed under the fulling stocks.
The actual fulling took place, with the cloth passing beneath the wooden mallets or ‘feet’, usually three times. The first time the trough beneath the mallets Many women must have contained urine, collected been delighted by the by the cask from the advance of technology! cottagers who received a penny a bucket. Oral tradition indicates that this was a regular practice in St John’s in the early part of the last century. The second fulling was with the fuller's earth and the third with hot soapy water. Each pounding lasted two hours, with a final thorough rinsing in clean water. Fulling stocks were set in pairs, each working alternately and swinging like a pendulum down onto the cloth. The face of the stock had a stepped rather than a flat end, whilst the box, which contained the cloth, had a curved backboard. These two features allowed the stock to turn the cloth round gradually after each blow ensuring an even application of the fulling process to the cloth, and preventing any excessive wear to any one area.
The Tentering Frame Following the fulling process, the cloth was attached to a tentering frame in order to stretch it to the required size by setting the weave to a consistent dimension and tension. It also acted as a way of evenly drying and bleaching the cloth in the sunlight. The tentering frame was a wooden framework, similar to a fence, consisting of a number of upright posts or rails set at intervals in a line, fixed to which, one above the other, were two long horizontal bars stretching from one end of the row to the other. Whilst the top bar was set, the lower one, set parallel to the upper one, was adjustable to suit the required width of the fulled cloth.
Fixed all along the bars every three or four inches were tenterhooks, L-shaped iron hooks, pointed at both ends. After fixing the edge of the fulled cloth to the tenterhooks, the frames were adjustable to cope with the differing widths of broadcloths and narrow cloths. Replicas of the original frames can now be seen in the Mills wildflower garden and the view of the original tenterfeld is preserved in the painting to be found in the Refectory by Eric Houlgrave, dated 1974.
The Woollen Industry The woollen Industry was one of the engines of the industrial revolution with huge developments in technology that changed society dramatically as the local cottage industries were replaced first by small factories like this one and ultimately by larger Mills ( like Tynwald Mills ) exporting the fabrics through Liverpool and other ports. This Mill and its location hold the clues that tell the story very well. The River Neb provides clean fast flowing water for power and for dying and washing the cloth. The local hills and valleys are ideal for sheep that provide the wool and the position near to the main roads is on a good bridging point to give good access for both farmers and customers. Inspired by the colours of the Manx hills the local tweeds, rugs, and blankets became famous and for well over 100 years were sold around the world. Plans for the restoration of the derelict Mill were developed in the late 1990’s as an ecumenical community project to celebrate the Millennium. The wheel and hammers had already been registered as being of historical significance and once the Mill had been ‘saved’, work began to preserve this important piece of local industrial history. As the wheel turns again it is a reminder of the skill of many generations and we are grateful to those who have contributed so much and continues to demonstrate outstanding skills today.
The Wheel Restoration Project. A small team of volunteers was put together by Mr Stan Kewley working with Mr Eric Wilkins M.B.E., who had recently retired as the head engineer for the National Trust at Staley Mill , Manchester. After over 6 years of detailed planning and work-parties the wheel, wheel pit and parts of the race were completely rebuilt and restored. The project was completed on the 1st July 2009. Chief Engineers and Project Managers Mr.Eric Wilkins M.B.E. and Mr.Stan Kewley BSc, CEng, FIET, FIMechE, MInstE, MInstMC, FIMgt.
Also: Chris Williams ( tanking of the mill race ) Dept of Local Government & Environment H.H. Kelly Electrical. Island Fixings & Fittings ( supply of fasteners ) John Cryer ( Architect ) J.G. Kelly Builders ( reconstruction of mill race and wheel pit ) Manx Electricity Authority ( timber testing ) Manx National Heritage Manx Heritage Foundation Paul Brew (design and technical drawings ) Phinik (IOM) ( lifting equipment, fabrications and special fasteners ) Premier Castings, Oldham ( manufacture of castings ) Ramsey Shipyard ( digital survey ) St. John’s Mill ( staff and volunteers ) Tony Sanders, Blacksmith ( manufacture of special bolts ) Tower Insurance Co. Tynwald Mills ( Isle of Man ) Ltd. Urbis Lighting ( lighting design ) Village Workshop ( supply and machining of timber )