Montalt Paper Mill

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• De Montalt Mill

Montalt or de Montalt Paper Mill, Combe Down, near Bath, Somerset.

Proprietors: Bally, Ellen and Steart. George Steart died in 1837.

The mill, built in 1805, was originally powered by a waterwheel, said at the time to be the largest in England, being 56 ft diameter, and having a 36 ft gear wheel.

1808 Boulton and Watt installed a 10 HP beam engine. 19¾" cylinder, 30" stroke, cast iron beam, cast iron connecting rod. The engine was of an usual arrangement referred to as "wiggle waggle". The inner end of the beam was connected directly to the piston rod, and the outer end was mounted on the engine framing. The connecting rod was connected to the beam between the beam's centre and inner end, and worked the crank shaft which was mounted in the centre of the base frame.

The mill originally produced high quality writing paper and paper for artists (including Turner and Constable), as well as for bank-notes issued by provincial banks. By 1834 it was producing gutta percha. Paper-making was subsequently removed to Wookey Hole. The overshot 56 ft waterwheel was fed from a reservoir by large pipe supported on columns, two of which remain to north of building at the east end, approx 5m high, forming piers at the entrance to adjacent cottages. The site became a furniture factory in the later 19th, operated by John Whitaker. The surviving structures are Grade II listed.

1834 Sale Notice: 'COOMB DOWN, NEAR BATH, SOMERSETSHIRE. TO PAPER MAKERS, CAPITALISTS, & 'OTHERS. .... the well-known and very conveniently constructed PAPER MILLS,called "De Montalt Mill," on the southern slope of Coomb Down, near Bath, with Cottages and Land adjoining, containing altogether about Two Acres, will, in consequence of the death of one of the Proprietors, and the dissolution of the late Copartnership, be offered FOR SALE BY PUBLIC AUCTION, at the WHITE LION INN, BATH, at Three o'clock in the Afternoon. The Mills are capacious, and with the Outbuildings and Cottages have, within a few years, been most substantially built by the Proprietors. There is a good supply of the purest Water, a Steam Engine, and every requisite Machinery for making and finishing, on an extensive scale, Papers of the first quality. the Kennett and Avon Canal communicates with the Somerset Coal Canal, which passes within a short distance of the premises, and, from the decided superiority of the De Montalt Papers, and the acknowledged preference given them by the Public, it may with confidence be said, that an opportunity is now offered by which a person of moderate capital may look forward to the realization of a large fortune. The whole is held on Lease, for an unexpired term of about 71 years, subject to an annual Ground Rent of 50 guineas. Also, an extensive and convenient WA REHOUSE, in Bath, to which has been, attached a Wholesale Stationery Business, in connection with the above mentioned Mills.

1841 'De Montalt Mills, with the Steam-Engines, Paper-making Machine Vats, Presses, and Implements for the Manufacture of Paper, 25 Tons of Rags, &c. in Chancery, "Poole V. Allen," to be Peremptorily SOLD by AUCTION, with the approbation of Andrew Henry Lynch, Esq., one of the Masters of the High Court of Chancery.— By Mr. PRICE (the Person appointed by the Master to Sell the same), on Thursday, July 22, punctually at Twelve, on the Premises,
THE Valuable Leasehold Estate, called De Montalt Mills, situate at Combe Down, near Bath; with the Cottages, Reservoir, and Land held therewith; together with all the machinery, two steam-engines, paper-making machine, rag-engines, vats, cisterns, several powerful presses, pair of glazing-rollers, coppers; iron, lead, and copper pipes; fixtures and fittings, machinery, papermoulds, lathes, 25 tons of various rags, and effects. .....'

1856 Shares offer: 'PATENT WOOLLEN FABRIC COMPANY (Limited.) DR. KERNOT'S PATENT. DE MONTALT MILLS, COMBE DOWN, BATH. .... This Company is established to carry out and extend one of the most Useful and Extraordinary Inventions of the present day in the Manufacture of Woollen Fabrics, which consists in Interlocking sheets of wool through a thin foundation of wool or cotton, by the application of Steam and Hydro-electricity, and in the words of of the Specification - "Whereby the Patentee is enabled to manufacture or produce a fine cloth, flannel, or any other similar fabric made of wool, or wool and other materials capable of being raised, shorn, and finished, so as to present a surface equal in gloss and texture to the finest woven woollen cloth or fabric." ....

1859 Advert: 'BATH WASHING COMPANY, DE MONTALT MILL, COMBE DOWN, Bath.
PURE WASHING — NO CHEMICALS - NO WRINGING — NO SCRUBBING.
THE MANAGING COMMITTEE beg to announce that the premises formerly used as a Paper Mill, COMBE DOWN, have been recently fitted up for the purpose of WASHING And FINISHING, on the most approved principle, articles of every description, for personal or domestic use. The arrangements are the most perfect that scientific skill, guided by practical experience, can produce. The Managers are persons practically acquainted with their duties, and the business will be conducted with punctuality and attention. There is an abundant supply of those indispensable requisites for restoring the health-promoting quality of Linen —
PURE Soft Water for Cleansing, and Pure Air for Drying.
The Water, which issues from springs on the Premises, has been long celebrated for its softness and purity ; it requires no chemical, and but the slightest mechanical aid to produce the most perfect cleansing without injury to the finest fabrics, thus preventing the destructive effects of caustic chemicals which greatly exceed the ordinary wear. The importance to health of having things dried in a pure and wholesome atmosphere cannot be too highly estimated : the appliances are such as enable the Managers to accomplish this at all seasons, and in every state of weather. Articles of every description, from the finest Lace or Cambric, to the largest Carpet—Blankets, Quilts, and Curtains, of every description — are washed and finished equal to new. ......'

1869 Sale Notice: ' .... A VALUABLE PROPERTY, most desirably situate on the Southern and best side of Combe Down, which will be Sold in the following Lots.
Lot I.—The Gentlemanly Detached RESIDENCE, with a due South aspect, protected from the North and East, and commanding charming and extensive views, known as "DE MONTALT." .....
Lot 3.—The Extensive and Substantial BUILDING, known for many years the DE MONTALT PAPER MILL, For which purpose it is admirably adapted, but would be eligible for a Brewery, Corn Mill, Cloth Factory, or any other trade requiring space and water power, of which there is an ample supply. It would also be suitable for Hydropathic Establishment, for which its proximity to Bath, the purity and abundance of the water, and the salubrity of the air, renders it peculiarly attractive. .....
The springs are very abundant and never failing, with fall of about 60 feet, and consequently of considerable power. The water is of the purest quality, and would be sufficient to supply the increasing wants of large portion of the city of Bath. .....'

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