Combe Mill
Encyclopedia
Combe Mill is a sawmill
situated adjacent to the River Evenlode
(at ) close to Combe railway station, between the villages of Combe
and Long Hanborough
in Oxfordshire
, England. Originally powered by a waterwheel, there is now a beam engine
.
In 1969 a working party from the City and County Museum (now the County Museum) at Woodstock surveyed the site and began negotiations with the Duke of Marlborough with a view to restoring the beam engine and its boiler. Three years later in September 1972 the efforts of the volunteers were rewarded when the engine was successfully steamed for the first time in sixty years. The Combe Mill Society was formed and the mill first opened to the public in 1975. Since then restoration has progressed steadily and expanded to include other aspects of the mill in addition to the beam engine.
The Mill still contains several historic trade catalogues from which hardware was once selected for use around the Blenheim Estate. It also still has several day books dating from the mid-19th century which record the names of workers and details of their earnings and day-to-day jobs.
The Mill is open between March and October and in steam on the third Sunday of these months. Schools and community groups may book visits at any time. The Mill has a working forge, where visitors can have the opportunity to make their own poker.
For more information see the society’s web site at www.combemill.org
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
situated adjacent to the River Evenlode
River Evenlode
The River Evenlode is a river in England which is a tributary of the Thames in Oxfordshire. It rises near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire in the Cotswold Hills and flows south-east passing near Stow-on-the-Wold, Charlbury, Bladon, and Cassington, and its valley provides the route of the southern...
(at ) close to Combe railway station, between the villages of Combe
Combe, Oxfordshire
Combe is a village and civil parish about northeast of Witney in Oxfordshire. The ecclesiastical parish is called Combe Longa .-History:...
and Long Hanborough
Long Hanborough
Long Hanborough is a village in Hanborough civil parish, about northeast of Witney in West Oxfordshire, England.-History:The Church of England parish church was built in 1893...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England. Originally powered by a waterwheel, there is now a beam engine
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
.
History
In about 1912 the engine ceased working, presumably because of a fault which either could not be repaired or was considered not worth repairing, and the beam engine then lay idle until its restoration. The waterwheel was replaced in 1934 with a metal one and the shaft replaced by the present timber one. It continued to function until the 1950s, when electric power was eventually brought to the mill. It was the principal source of power for the mill for about forty years, except for a time during the First World War when the government installed auxiliary stationary steam engines to cope with the war effort. When the wheel eventually ceased to be used the leat was filled in and the sluices buried in the mid 1960s.In 1969 a working party from the City and County Museum (now the County Museum) at Woodstock surveyed the site and began negotiations with the Duke of Marlborough with a view to restoring the beam engine and its boiler. Three years later in September 1972 the efforts of the volunteers were rewarded when the engine was successfully steamed for the first time in sixty years. The Combe Mill Society was formed and the mill first opened to the public in 1975. Since then restoration has progressed steadily and expanded to include other aspects of the mill in addition to the beam engine.
The Mill still contains several historic trade catalogues from which hardware was once selected for use around the Blenheim Estate. It also still has several day books dating from the mid-19th century which record the names of workers and details of their earnings and day-to-day jobs.
The Mill is open between March and October and in steam on the third Sunday of these months. Schools and community groups may book visits at any time. The Mill has a working forge, where visitors can have the opportunity to make their own poker.
For more information see the society’s web site at www.combemill.org