Mills in Axminster, Devon - Part One: Castle Mill

Castle Mill is situated at the lowest point of Castle Hill, where it is thought that an actual castle once stood. I have been unable to find any history or information about the mill at all. I'm assuming that its name derives from the name of the street, and that the crenellations on the front part of the building were added for the same reason. There is another, more workaday, part of the building behind the front edifice, which I have been unable to get a clear look at, although it can partially be seen from the nearby railway bridge, below.

I came across this whilst having a mooch down to the bridge over the railway lines, looking for WW2 pillboxes, which I couldn't find. I later discovered they weren't there because I had the wrong bridge! 

I later found out that the ground floor of the front building is used by a pet food company, but the site looked a bit derelict and unused, which was why I decided to investigate and take a few photos. 

 

What looks like empty pet or bird cages outside the entrance, below. At that point I still thought it was disused, until...

...a rather large dog (or there might have been two) started barking when I went towards the door and the owner came out. He kindly allowed me to continue taking photos of the building close-up, once I'd explained why I was there.

I did have some information from Axminster Museum (now moved to a new building and renamed the Axminster Heritage Centre) concerning three mills in the town. There was this one and the nearby Brush Works, plus another one in the town - which I haven't yet ascertained its whereabouts, although it's also near behind Castle Mill - as well as two outside the town at Weycroft and Millbrook. Unfortunately, I've just looked through all my notebooks going back twenty years and can't find it! So, that's it for now and if I do find out anything else I'll add it to this post. Cheers. :)

 

 

 

Rodney Rendell Farm Services, Axminster, Devon

I first saw this abandoned factory whilst a passenger in a friend's car back in 2008, and didn't think much about it at the time as I had lots of other places on my explore list...then consequently forgot all about it. I was reminded of it from an article in the local newspaper (a call to have it demolished) and, having failed to do what I wanted in Axminster, I decided to walk the half mile or so to Weycroft to take a look. Visited in early September 2011.

 

Rodney Rendell's was a steel fabricator & erector and engineering services firm. It took me a while to discover what they manufactured, but then I came across this piece on Dairy Spares company's website...

"Dairy Spares has purchased the Weycroft Macford™ milking machine genuine parts as of 8th May 2006. These are a well established product range in the UK, having been sold here since 1948 and Dairy Spares will continue to supply the full range through their distribution network in the UK. The previous owners Rodney and Mary Rendell have retired and we wish them all the best."

From which can be seen that Rendell's produced milking machine parts and also closed in 2006, the factory having been left for some five years.

No Admittance!    

Well, the door was open so it would be rude not to take up the invitation! ;)

  

It's fairly stripped out but, as always in old factories, there's some great lighting from the roof sky lights. A little bit trashed but not as bad as many that have been left abandoned for so long.

Below, a small winch, which I think was part of the mechanism for opening the steel doors.  

 

The only machinery left in situ is this one. I thought it might have been a kind of lathe but I've been reliably informed by someone on the Derelict Places forum that it's a radial arm drill.
 

A small separate workshop, just off from the main factory floor.
 

 And a great looking work bench and shelf system inside.

I didn't manage to see everything, and a few of the photos turned out too blurry to use. I always intended to go back again, but alas left it too late as it has since been demolished.

All in all, a nice wanderable visit. I only had half an hour before another bus to the next venue, but it wasn't wasted as there was more to it than I expected, even though the factory's fairly stripped out. It would have been really relaxed, but as I wound my first film back too quickly it snapped in the camera and I lost half of it. So, once I'd loaded another film I had to rush around to take shots of everything again before catching the bus. That'll teach me to be too hasty! ;)