Lower Mill, Brimscombe
of Brimscombe, near Stroud
The earliest reference to a mill at Brimscombe seems to date from 1594
1608 The mill belonged to Richard Fowler, clothier.
1648 the property was sold by Henry Fowler of Brimscombe House and consisted of a fulling mill, gig mill, grist mill and barn, and a rack close.
1760 William Dallaway had two houses, fulling mills with three stocks, a gig mill, a knapping mill, racks and a blue dye house.
By 1790, Dallaway's son's debts forced the sale of the mill to Joseph Lewis, whose sons were known for their improvements in cloth-making machinery, notably the rotary shearing-machine which John Lewis patented in 1815, although credit for the invention was also claimed by Stephen Price of Stroud.[1]
1833 Steam engines were installed in the mill
1838 A power loom and 60 handlooms were recorded, although 29 of the handlooms were unemployed.
1843 After William Lewis' death in 1843, the mill was sold with all its machinery to John Ferrabee of Thrupp Mill.
1845 Ferrabee sold the mill to Samuel Marling. Marling leased it at first. It later became part of the firm of Marling and Evans, who continued to make cloth here until the early 1930s.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the mill was in two parts, the Upper and Lower Mills.
1882 P. C. Evans and Sons
1912 Sale of machinery and plant.[2]
When cloth-making ceased, a number of different businesses moved in:
- The Lower Mill was occupied chiefly by metalworking firms.
- The Upper Mill was first occupied by a knitting needle manufacturer, and later, by chemical companies who in 1971, employed about 30 people.
1929 Frederick Hammond rented Lower Mill for an engineering business.[3]
By 1931 one section of Brimscombe Lower Mill was occupied by a firm making automobile engine parts
By 1935 another section was occupied by J. Cousins, iron-founders.
From 1946 Lower Mill was occupied by Kimberley and Hogg, electro-platers and metal-polishers, and Lewis and Hole, who made castings for the engineering trade.
1971 Kimberley and Hogg shared the site with a firm of welders and a firm of vehicle-body repairers.