| Description | Water Mill, Tootal Street. Wakefield. Former water powered corn mill built c.1800. Possible mill site dating back to the early 13th century (Goodchild, J. (Principal Local Studies Officer and Archivist). Undated. Chronological note on the Wakefield Upper Mill).
'Cornmill c1800. Thin dark red brick, stone slate roof, timber and metal waterwheel. Three main internal bays divided by brick spine walls, 6 bay king post roof. Two stories. T shaped with a short (later?) projection set in central bay with lean to slate roof. Central cart entry has segmental arch with brick soldiers. Entry partly infilled with later brickwork, contains doorway. Above is taking in doorway with short platform carried on stone corbels, retains 6 panelled door. Lean to to left. First bay has 1st floor segmental arched doorway with boarded door. To right of central taking in door is a wide segmental arched window (lacks glazing). Right hand bay has segmental arched doorway (lacking door) which gives access to wheel pit. Above is a doorway with boarded door. Originally extended perhaps another bay to right now reduced. Modern brickwork in right hand gable. Rear fronts River Calder. Has 4 windows to 1st floor, the central one blocked.
Interior: Central doorway leads into large room with 4 spine beams with cross floor joists. S single flight stair set against the rear wall leads to 1st floor, the central 3 bays preserving metal drive shafts and spoked flywheels attached to the underside of the tie beams and three timber boarded grain hoppers. Another stair leads to attic. The roof is evenly divided by oak fish bone king post trusses, the principals with chamfered edges and run out stops. King posts fork at top to house diamond set ridge tree. Each pitch has two trenched purlins with chamfered edges which support original oak rafters from ridge to wall plate. The northernmost truss is numbered 'III' in the centre of the tie beam and has a modern brick wall built up against it (the right hand gable wall). The roof of the 1st two bays suggests that it is a later extension having a softwood fish bone king post truss with 3 tusked purlins to each roof pitch tenoned and pegged and softwood rafters of slight scantling'.
(English Heritage listed building description. Date listed 07/05/1991. http://list.english heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1243537. Web site accessed 27/11/2013).
The mill was the subject of an archaeological assessment by Peter Thornborrow (WYAS) in 1991. This was probably a result of the discovery of the waterwheel being reported to WYAS (Hedges, J.D. 1991. Correspondence to Mr F.R. Perraudin regarding Perraudin's discovery of the waterwheel c.1991 and the subsequent EH spot list request). The photographic images and sketch plan produced by the assessment are held by WYAAS (Thornborrow, P.H. (WYAS). 1991) |