Pitcombe, South Somerset Continuing the long, local tradition of imaginative reinvention to suit the times, at both mills the infinitely renewable flow of water generates electricity
In the hamlet of Cole, part of the valley parish of Pitcombe, south-west of Bruton, the river Pitt joins the larger Brue. For centuries these rivers have fed two mills here, though the mills uses have evolved across the centuries to meet changing needs and markets.
Domesday records two mills in the valley, one of them almost certainly the original of Gants Mill, which was a fulling mill serving the woollen industry until, in the 19th century, a brief silk boom created new demands and employment for 200 women and girls. By 1856, it was grinding animal feed for local farms, as milk, bacon and cheese became the regions prime products. The much smaller mill at Cole had been producing edge tools when, in 1798, a sale notice claimed that the property might suit any person acquainted with the manufacturing line where water is required. Between 1811 and 1950 it ground flour.