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for a walk and never returned.... his dog came home to the mill and was fed by Betty the maid from the farm. Often on a frosty moonlit night the
Near the bridge there is a tunnel with the river running under the canal with a walkway. This was to let the workers get to the nearby mill on the Sunday. I think it was a sack mill at one time, but
Bridge repair, Mill Bridge Stainton Cross., with Packet Boat passing through. ghostly form of the dog wandered slowly up and down the lane looking for its lost troubled master. It was found drowned in the mill-race one day. After working in the mill for something to do we cycled to Stainton Cross to the bridge over the canal. There was an area where clay was stored. This was used to puddle the clay into the banks if a rupture appeared. Stored here also were large pieces of timber used to dam the water to cut out a section to be repaired. Sometimes one of these planks accidentally fell into the water and, if careful, you could balance precariously, holding your breath for a short sail, until your nerves failed and you made a leap for the bank. 11
most mills had varied uses over the years. A little to the south of the bridge, on a corner, the canal increased in width to form a large basin with a water culvert filling the cutting. I have included my water colour painting of war-time in the Mill Bridge mill. I have also included a painting of Stainton Cross bridge being repaired, (my imagination), although it is not a good quality print. ID