Bit of a different one this, technically a former industrial site but as silk weaving was done in peoples homes back then and it being a filming location I decided to stick this in 'others'.
In the village of Holford are the remains of a cottage and several other foundations which were possibly part of a Huguenot silk factory or mill, a little further up the road there is also "Dye Cottage" which was presumably originally used to dye the silk. On 13th January 1830 the main manufacturing building was destroyed by fire, it had suffered 2 previous fires as well, although this one completely destroyed the building. There is a lot of confusion around this site and what was actually once on it, many websites state it was not a mill or a factory but some say it was. There is a reference to a mill in Holford in the Doomsday Book; however, there is no evidence that it was at the silk mills site. The trail can be later picked up in Victoria County History publication which states:
“By 1664 there were three fulling mills on the Rogers estate of Kilve and Holford, of which two were in Holford and one in Stringston. One of the Holford mills had been built by c. 1590. The other, described as lately built in 1664, was called Broadwood Mill, and a dye house stood near it.”
The village was founded in the iron age and Roman coins are often found. In the middle of Holford Glen, a deep valley where 2 streams converge are significant remains of the cottage and smaller remains of other structures. The Glen was also a filming location for Bryan Adams hit song 'Everything I Do' from the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. The last owners of the Silk Mill remains were The League Against Cruel Sports. They sold it for £60,000 back in 2012 to a private buyer. There is a group set up who wish to stop any planning or development and they wish to restore the cottage or at least use re-inforcements to keep the structure as it is and use the stream as a renewable energy source with a small hydro-mill. However, 6 years on, nothing has changed.
Towards the North end of the village heading to Alfoxton Park (former home of William Wordsworth, report also put up) is the ancient dog pound which holds a rather gruesome tale. Meat for the hunt hounds was hung in the trees. This attracted stray dogs though, so one night when the huntsman heard braying dogs he went to investigate. Not wearing his hunt attire he was attacked and killed by his own dogs. The pound was created to prevent such a mishap occurring again.
Link to the sales particulars; http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property...ium=email&utm_campaign=iphoneapp2sendtofriend
Link to the Action Group; https://sites.google.com/site/saveholfordsilkmills/home
Trying to find Bryan Adams video online was proving quite difficult so this poor screenshot will have to suffice for now. As per my other report on Alfoxton Park, my DSLR battery failed so unfortunately these are the unedited shots from the phone.
In the village of Holford are the remains of a cottage and several other foundations which were possibly part of a Huguenot silk factory or mill, a little further up the road there is also "Dye Cottage" which was presumably originally used to dye the silk. On 13th January 1830 the main manufacturing building was destroyed by fire, it had suffered 2 previous fires as well, although this one completely destroyed the building. There is a lot of confusion around this site and what was actually once on it, many websites state it was not a mill or a factory but some say it was. There is a reference to a mill in Holford in the Doomsday Book; however, there is no evidence that it was at the silk mills site. The trail can be later picked up in Victoria County History publication which states:
“By 1664 there were three fulling mills on the Rogers estate of Kilve and Holford, of which two were in Holford and one in Stringston. One of the Holford mills had been built by c. 1590. The other, described as lately built in 1664, was called Broadwood Mill, and a dye house stood near it.”
The village was founded in the iron age and Roman coins are often found. In the middle of Holford Glen, a deep valley where 2 streams converge are significant remains of the cottage and smaller remains of other structures. The Glen was also a filming location for Bryan Adams hit song 'Everything I Do' from the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. The last owners of the Silk Mill remains were The League Against Cruel Sports. They sold it for £60,000 back in 2012 to a private buyer. There is a group set up who wish to stop any planning or development and they wish to restore the cottage or at least use re-inforcements to keep the structure as it is and use the stream as a renewable energy source with a small hydro-mill. However, 6 years on, nothing has changed.
Towards the North end of the village heading to Alfoxton Park (former home of William Wordsworth, report also put up) is the ancient dog pound which holds a rather gruesome tale. Meat for the hunt hounds was hung in the trees. This attracted stray dogs though, so one night when the huntsman heard braying dogs he went to investigate. Not wearing his hunt attire he was attacked and killed by his own dogs. The pound was created to prevent such a mishap occurring again.
Link to the sales particulars; http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property...ium=email&utm_campaign=iphoneapp2sendtofriend
Link to the Action Group; https://sites.google.com/site/saveholfordsilkmills/home
Trying to find Bryan Adams video online was proving quite difficult so this poor screenshot will have to suffice for now. As per my other report on Alfoxton Park, my DSLR battery failed so unfortunately these are the unedited shots from the phone.
