V11.185
This sketch by Martin Way shows how the sawmill site looked at about the time it stopped operating as a working sawmill in 2000. The right angled buildings in the right hand foreground are the sawmill, engine room,
workshop and water wheel complex.
Visitors who spare a moment during their time in Combe Mill to look at the building itself will see many features that help to understand how it was used in past years.
Look at the size of the main timber beams and imagine workmen using block and tackle to move machinery and work pieces around. Think about how the Foreman, from his office, could keep an eye on workmen in the Timber Mill and the Pattern Shop and the proximity to the tower bell when it was rung for the end of a working day.
How did workmen get to the pattern shop? The stairs used by visitors was only created in the 1980s - before that the only way in was through the Foreman’s Office. Similarly, how did they get into the engine room? The door used by visitors was only created by the Society in the 1970s.
Look, too, at the roof space and see where dormer windows once provided daylight to an upper floor, the evidence for which are the notches in the top side of the ceiling beams.
It is hard not to get a feel of the past after spending time in Combe Mill.
Visitors who spare a moment during their time in Combe Mill to look at the building itself will see many features that help to understand how it was used in past years.
Look at the size of the main timber beams and imagine workmen using block and tackle to move machinery and work pieces around. Think about how the Foreman, from his office, could keep an eye on workmen in the Timber Mill and the Pattern Shop and the proximity to the tower bell when it was rung for the end of a working day.
How did workmen get to the pattern shop? The stairs used by visitors was only created in the 1980s -
Look, too, at the roof space and see where dormer windows once provided daylight to an upper floor, the evidence for which are the notches in the top side of the ceiling beams.
It is hard not to get a feel of the past after spending time in Combe Mill.
© 2009 Webmaster Tony Simmons
Registered Charity Number 1111029
An early picture of Combe Mill
Combe Mill today viewed from the picnic area
Combe Mill pattern shop in the 1980s
