West Mill, Bridport, Dorset

A Grade II listed building, West Mill is one of the many mills that made up the town industries. However, I made a mistake when I wrote the article on my now defunct website; I said that it was part of the main rope making industry, but I've since found out that it was a Brewery Mill.

However, I'll keep the little potted history of Bridport's rope making industry on this blog post for interest's sake... 

Bridport has long been associated with rope making. Its extensive history includes ropes and cables, which were decreed for his army by King John in 1213, right up to today's industry that still produces fishing, sports, specialist nets and cargo restraints. One of the former products was that of the hangman's rope and noose, which gave rise to the saying that to be hanged was to be 'stabbed with a Bridport dagger'. Most of the goal nets for football championships were made in Bridport, including those used during the 1966 World Cup, as well as the tennis nets used at Wimbledon.  

Although there has been a mill here since the 15th century, this one was built in 1878. A three-storey building constructed in red brick, it looks rather attractive with its Portland stone dressings above the doors and windows and the planked wood sack hoist projected high on the west gable.

Above, outside the rear of the mill sits this delightful winch & cable windlass, which straddles the overflow runoff and controlled the sluices. Originally the mill was powered with a waterwheel, but in 1886 a turbine was installed and the wheel removed.

Amazingly enough, this retaining wall to the River Brit is also Grade II Listed. Mid 19th century, built in Hammer dressed stone with ashlar coping, it runs alongside the north side of the pavement on West Street.

The front, western entrance of the mill, below, showing the planked loading doors and sack hoist above. 

Across from the main entrance of the mill is another part of the mill leat. Heavily overgrown and cordoned off by railings, but various workings can still be seen, below. The bridge is also Grade II Listed, built in the 19th century, and a wall extends alongside the leat up to the northern Mill House.

The wrought iron railings with ornamental spearhead finials are contemporay with the mill, culminating in an iron gate at the north end, below.

Below, various buildings next to the main mill building. In the listed buildings register, it is listed as West Mills, so there may have been more than one mill operating here. It also lists various outhouses to the north, which these probably are.The first one is dated as being probably 18th century and the rest circa C19, built in Hammer dressed stone with pitched roofs.

A little further up the lane, and on the opposite side, is Mill House. Also a Grade II Listed Building, dated 19th century. It wasn't until I just looked closer at the photo below that a building on the left in the middle distance also has a sack hoist housing on the gable. It also looks very similar to West Mill, but lower and smaller.

The Mill House refers to the right hand building however, with reference to a stucco front and a pitched roof with overhanging eaves at the gable ends, which this one has. I don't know if the additional red brick wings were part of the original building or if they were added later. The Listed Building entry also mentions a wooden porch, a pointed arch and trefoil ornament cut into spandrels. It might be that the frontage is on the other side and that this is the rear.

I had a walk further on and also took some photos of the river.

I came across West Mill when I took a bus journey to Bridport just to have a look around one day in 2009. Having wandered onto the main road from the bus station it really caught my eye and I spent most of my time here. It was such an interesting find and, although I knew nothing about it beforehand, I inadvertently and serendipitously took enough photos of the surroundings that fit in with the mill and are also listed buildings. Even though these buildings aren't derelict the God of Urbex was surely with me that day, lol. ;)

And a random airbrick to finish off with! :)

West Bay Harbour, West Bay, Dorset

West Bay, formerly known as Bridport Harbour, is situated just a couple of miles from the inland town of Bridport, which was the major rope-making industry of Britain. The harbour can be traced back to the 13th century, when sluices were erected across the mouth of the River Brit to form a navigable entrance.

Ships were built here during the Napoleonic Wars of 1799 to 1850, but ship-building eventually ceased as wooden ships were phased out. The coming of rail in the late 1800's saw a decline in the use of the harbour, and at that time was re-named West Bay. However, maritime buildings and houses expanded the hamlet and the harbour was used for import and export until the 1960s. Fishing still continues today and is also a tourist attraction as a holiday destination, as well as being part of the UNESCO Jurassic Coast World Heritage site.

These first daytime photos were taken some twenty years ago, around 2000/1, whilst on a day out with some friends. Since then, the harbour has seen some changes. Recent work has replaced the west pier and rebuilt the east pier, extending the harbour with a new slip way and outer harbour.

Having watched the wake from a boat coming in I noticed another one on its way and had a go at photographing its progress, which was quite good fun. As I use a 35mm camera a motordrive would have been handy, but it was just about doable by frantically winding the film on! ;)

The following photos were taken during a further visit in October 2009. After a ride around various places with a visiting friend, we ended up in West Bay at the end of the afternoon. After a leisurely pint at the harbour pub, we had a walk around the harbour and took photos just as the sun was setting and night drew in.

A lovely end to the day, with the added bonus of a full moon too!

 















 

Webster's Garage, Axminster, Devon

One day in late January 2009 I had to go into Axminster, and walking past this building I noticed the signs saying it was earmarked for demolition. Previously used as an indoor market for greengroceries, kitchen hardware and gardening products, the pavement outside used to be stacked with flowers and plants for sale. I was hoping to buy some flowers as I had an errand nearby, but was disappointed...so I took some photos instead. :) 

It wasn't until later that I discovered it was originally Webster's Garage before its market days - from a local newspaper article decrying it as an eyesore. Someone also told me that it had been shut down due to an arson attack about a year before. A local artist put forward the idea of producing a mural depicting Axminster and its history in order to disguise it a bit, which he subsequently produced. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to return to Axminster since then, so I don't have any photos.  

Small shops were situated either side of the main building. These too had been closed ready for demolition. I was told that a taxi company, Males Taxis, used one of the shops until about ten years before the market was closed, and I also get the vague feeling that one of them was once a watchmender's as I recall seeing watches in the window.

The photos below were taken from the car park which abuts the side of the building. The glass roof had mostly gone at this time, leaving only the skeletal metal beams.

The building was eventually completely removed. The idea was to use the land as a temporary car park, during which time the yearly carnival funfair was also to be held on the site. I'm not sure if anything else has been done with it; plans to use it to create a possible shopping centre backfired, as government funding for high street regeneration was denied. This was as late as last year. However, having seen photos of it since being cleared it really is a lot bigger than I realised, so there may yet be possibilities for something interesting to be built there.