Felbridge & District History Group

Daniel Fossick
Although the Land Tax was paid by Sir George S Evelyn between 1800 and 1803, it is known that Daniel Fossick held Wire Mill in 1800, being recorded of ‘Wire Mill’ in the Tithe for the Felbridge Estate. By the name, ‘Wire Mill’, the implication is that the Woodcock Forge must have been producing wire from at least 1800, but unfortunately it not yet known when Daniel Fossick took over the redundant Woodcock Forge, converting it as a wire mill. Daniel Fossick was recorded paying the Land Tax of £2 9s 6d for Wire Mill, a reduction of 2d, until 1808, when payment of the tax was taken on by William Pilbeam.

Evidence suggests that Daniel Fossick came from a Quaker background appearing as a wire worker and trading as Daniel Fossick & Co of London, between 1776 and 1785. It would appear that he was joined by a son in 1785 as the company’s name changed to Daniel Fossick & Son until 1791 when it became Daniel Fossick & Sons, possibly joined by another son or sons. There was yet another name change in 1799 when the company traded as Fossick & Sons until 1817. By 1799, the company was described as a copper, brass, tinplate and wire warehouse. It is possible that Daniel Fossick took over the Forge from Wright & Prickett, although there is no documentary evidence proving or disproving the possibility.

As a point of interest, there is a court case in 1743 of the trial of Sarah Mills of St Andrew, Holborn, who was found guilty of stealing 10 hanks (15lbs) of brass wire to the value of 25/- from one Mr Samuel Fossick, where she worked as a charwoman. She was ordered to pay 4s 10d and was transported to Australia for her crime. Evidence was presented at the trial that the brass wire could only have been made by Mr Samuel Fossick. Sadly there is no evidence to confirm a link between Samuel and Daniel Fossick but it is conceivable that the two were related.

The Wire Mill
The Woodcock Forge would have been relatively easy to convert to a wire mill, as both processes required a hammer and a set of bellows, both run by waterwheels. The only distinction between a hammer mill or forge and a wire mill was the size of the building, the latter requiring much larger premises to hold the drawing machinery. The alterations carried out at the time of its conversion left the building much as you see it today, (minus a few flat-roof extensions to the west side), a brick and weather boarded property under a slate roof, with three floors. The lucomb or wooden grain hoist that projects out over the private road to the north of the building was added when the property became a flour mill in the 19th century.

The following is a contemporary description of the workings of a wire mill taken from the Book of Trades or Library of Useful Arts, published in 1811:

The metals most commonly drawn into wire are gold, silver, copper and iron. Silver and gold wire are the same, except that the latter is covered with gold. There are also counterfeit gold and silver wires, made of copper gilt and silvered all over.

The business of a wire-drawer is thus performed: if it is gold wire that is wanted, an ingot of silver is double gilt, and then by the assistance of a mill it is drawn into wire. The mill consists of a steel plate, perforated with holes of different dimensions, and a wheel which turns the spindles. The ingot, which at first is but small, is passed through the largest hole, and then through one a degree smaller, and so continued till it is drawn to the required fineness; and it is all equally gilt, if drawn out as fine as hair.

The next operation is that of the flatting-mill, which consists of two perfectly round and exquisitely polished rollers, formed internally of iron, and welded over with a plate of refined steel; these rollers are placed with their axes parallel and their circumferences nearly in contact, they are both turned with one handle; the lowermost is about ten inches in diameter, the upper about two, and they are something more than an inch in thickness. The wire unwinding from a bobbin, and passing between the leaves of a book gently pressed, and through a narrow slit in an upright piece of wood, called a ketch, is directed by a small conical hole in a piece of iron called a guide, to any particular part of the width of the rollers, some of which are capable of receiving, by this contrivance, forty threads. When the wire is flatted between the rollers, it is wound again on a bobbin, which is turned by a wheel, fixed on the axis of one of the rollers, and so proportioned, that the motion of the bobbin just keeps pace with that of the roller.

Brass and copper wire is drawn in a similar manner to that already described. Of the brass wire there are many different sizes, suited to different kinds of works. The finest is used for the strings of musical instruments. Pin-makers also use great quantities of wires of several sizes to make pins of.

Iron wire is made from bars of iron, which are first drawn out to a greater length, to about the thickness of half an inch in diameter, at a furnace with a hammer gently moved by water. These thinner pieces are bored round, and put into a furnace to anneal. A very strong fire is necessary for this operation.

They are then delivered to the workmen called rippers, who draw them into wire through two and three holes, and then annealed for a second time; after which they are to be drawn into wire of the thickness of a packthread after this they are again to be annealed, and then delivered to the small-wire-drawers. The plate, in which the holes are, is iron on the outside, and the wire is anointed with oil, to make it run easier. The first iron that runs from the stone, when melting, being the softest and toughest, is usually preserved to make wire of.

The greatest improvement ever made in this art, was undoubtedly the invention of the large drawing-machine, which is driven by water or by steam, and in which the axle-tree, by means of a lever, moves a pair of pincers, that open as they fall against the drawing-plate; lay hold of the wire, which is guided through a hole of the plate; shut as they are drawn back; and in that manner pull the wire along with them.

Wire-drawing, in all its branches, is profitable to the master, and to the workman it is a good business, being a trade that is not exposed to the weather, that can be carried on at all seasons of the year, and by which he may earn from one guinea to double that sum in a week.

It is not known which metals were drawn into wire at the Wire Mill but the will of Daniel Fossick refers to copper and iron, and as the company of Fossick & Sons was described as a ‘copper, brass, tinplate and wire warehouse’ this implies that they may also have been producing brass wire there. There is also a reference to the company supplying ‘woven wirecloth’ to a papermaker in the 1780’s, but there is no indication of which metal was used to make the wire for the wirecloth.

Daniel Fossick died in 1816 and left the Wire Mill, referred to as Woodcock Mills, to his son-in-law, William Matthews, although as already established, William Pilbeam was paying the tax for the mill from 1808/9, and was succeeded by John Burt in 1811 who continued to pay the tax until 1816/7. The will of Daniel Fossick had been written in 1805 and proved in 1816 but it is unclear whether he had sold the mill or was sub-leasing it to William Pilbeam and then John Burt. However, based on the evidence of Daniel Fossick’s will it would seem likely that William Pilbeam and John Burt continued to operate the property as a wire mill. The will states that William Matthews could have the mill if he paid the sum of £300 to the nieces of Daniel Fossick, with the value of the iron and utensils being equally divided between them, or he could sell the mill and valued iron and utensils, dividing the whole sum between the two nieces. It is not known which option William Matthews took but the will does outline some of the equipment at the Woodcock Mills which was just one of several wire mills owned by Daniel Fossick. The will states:
‘… And I desire all my household furniture at Woodcock Mills together with sundry carpenters tools which I have there and do not in any manner appertain to the manufactory of wire may be sold for the best price that can be got for the same either by private or public sale at the discretion of my executors And all my Line which I may have at Woodcock Mills at the time of my decease I desire may be added to my Line in London hereinbefore bequeathed to my said two nieces Elizabeth Dickinson and Mary Alderson and equally divided between them as before directed And I further order and direct that a proper inventory shall be made and taken of the whole stock of iron and all other utensils and implements in the mill and in the smithy also? Hammers anvils vice and bellows copper and Lye Tubs and all the wood and faggots scouring barrels and shed over the same all which I desire may be for fairly valued and appraised by such persons whom my executors and my son in law William Matthews shall trust…’

Lye tubs were the vessels used to either make or store a caustic solution called lye, which was manufactured by running water through wood ash, the resulting liquid being natural potash lye or potassium hydroxide. The scouring barrels would have contained an acidic solution that was heated and used in the first step of the wire making process by cleaning the scale, rust and dirt from the wire rods. After this process the rods were rinsed in water and placed on the wire drawing frame, being pulled through the die blocks reducing their size and extending their length. At the time of writing the will in 1805, Daniel Fossick lists the occupiers of the Woodcock Wire Mills as William Bourd and his wife Mary implying that William ran the mill for him.

In 1815, the rate of Land Tax for the Wire Mill paid by John Burt was increased from £2 9s 6d to £3 2s 5d, along with a rent of £50 10/-. The increase in the Land Tax was not only confined to Wire Mill but applied to all the properties on the Felbridge Estate, therefore reflecting a change in the rate of Land Tax rather than a valuation change for the property. From 1816 the rate of Land Tax was reduced again and the tax payable on Wire Mill was £3 0s 5d and remained at that figure until the end of the available records in 1832, the rent being unchanged throughout.

Like William Pilbeam, little is known about John Burt and nothing conclusive has yet been found on either of them after their departure from Wire Mill. However, in the 1842 East Grinstead Tithe a John Burt was recorded as occupying the property known as Oak Cottage on Hedgecourt Common in Felbridge, situated on the site of the house in the corner of Leybourne Place, off Crawley Down Road, formerly part of Ann’s Orchard, although by 1851 he had either moved or died as he does not appear in the census. [For further details see Ann’s Orchard, SJC 05/01, Handout]

After the death of Daniel Fossick in 1816, it would appear that his son-in-law William Matthews sold Woodcock Mills to James Jenner who later appears as a corn miller implying that this was the date at which the mill ceased being a wire mill and became a flour mill. However, unlike converting a hammer mill to a wire mill, which is relatively simple, the conversion of a wire mill to a corn mill would have been fairly major, requiring very different machinery.

James Jenner
James Jenner, referred to as James Jenner junior in the Land Tax Records of 1817, (for just that year only), remained at the Wire Mill for over twenty-five years, until 1844, when he was succeeded by Thomas Brand. James Jenner was born in about 1781 and married Elizabeth Newington, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Newington, at Saint Saviour church, Southwark, on 19th April 1834. Elizabeth was born in 1806 in Leatherhead, Surrey. They had several children including, Samuel born in 1835, Newington born in 1848 and Eliza born in 1841.

From 1826, the Land Tax Records itemised what the tax and rent was paid on, which at the Wire Mill included a house, mill and land. The most likely house for which James Jenner was paying land tax was that of the property on the site of Legend. In 1838, James Jenner was joined by John Saunders at what was then called Woodcock Mill, until his departure to take over Hedgecourt Mill sometime before 1840, when James Jenner was joined at the Woodcock Mill by William Brand.

In 1841, the Jenner household included James and his wife Eliza and two of their children, Newington and Eliza. Living in the house with the family were George Tidy a forty-year old servant, possibly assisting in the mill as a loader, James Brand aged thirty-five working with James Jenner as a miller journeyman, and Jane Russell a twenty-year old servant, probably working as a domestic servant in the house.

By 1841, there were two cottages near the mill and living in one of the cottages was John Taylor aged fifty working as an agricultural labourer, along with his wife Elizabeth, also aged fifty, and the second cottage was home to Thomas Carey, a fifty-year old shoe mender and his family, wife Sarah aged forty-five, and children Thomas aged twenty and Margaret aged fifteen. It is difficult to ascertain the location of these two cottages as the map evidence suggests there were at least three buildings near the mill, as well as the house in which James Jenner lived in.

In 1844, the Godstone Tithe details the extent of the property known as Woodcock Mill. The property was owned by Hon Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson the Earl of Liverpool, the son-in-law of Sir George S Evelyn, and the mill was held by James Jenner, miller, as part of plot 143.

No. on Plan Description Cultivation Area Total
139 Bridge Field Arable 04. 02. 27
144 Four and a half Acres Arable 04. 02. 16
147 Barrack Field Arable 10. 00. 32
158 Four acre Field Arable 04. 02. 16
160 Six Acres Arable 07. 00. 14
161 Long Field Arable 04. 03. 35
162 Three Acre Field Arable 03. 00. 24
163 Barn Field Arable 04. 03. 07
190 Lower Bush Field Arable 02. 03. 19
192 Upper Spring Field Arable 07. 01. 30
193 Pt. Upper Bush Field Arable 05. 03. 27
136 Five Acres Meadow 04. 03. 26
137 Little Meadow Meadow 03. 00. 03
138 Sawpit Meadow Meadow 00. 00. 21
142 Sawpit Meadow Meadow 00. 03. 22
157 Barn Meadow Meadow 03. 00. 36
165 Barn Plat Pasture 00. 02. 33
189 Lower Spring Field Pasture 03. 01. 22
16a Pasture 05. 01. 10
155 Pond Tail Pasture 05. 00. 26
156 Pond Tail Pasture 06. 00. 26
143 Mill Plat Wood 00. 03. 10
166 Pt. Pond Tail Wood 00. 00. 21
183a Wood Wood 02. 01. 26
184 Shaw Wood 00. 00. 30
186 Spring Field Shaw Wood 01. 00. 04
140 House 00. 03. 06
141 Yard 00. 01. 00
146 Buildings 00. 00. 18
154 Mill Pond Water 18. 02. 15
164 Barn 00. 00. 30
185 Cart Pass 00. 01. 20
187 Pond Water 00. 00. 12
188 Cart Pass Road 00. 01. 05
Total 119. 01 .14

The location of the dwelling house confirms that James Jenner was living in the house now called Legend, formerly called Woodcock House in 1672. Likewise, the location of the attached farmland suggests that it was made up of the eighty-five acres known as Hammerlands Farm in 1694, with an additional thirty-four acres. The increased acreage in 1844 included eighteen acres of mill pond that had traditionally travelled separately to the Hammerlands, thus there was an additional sixteen acres unaccounted for. The acreage of the mill pond is not known prior to 1844 and as such the sixteen extra acres could have been water if the mill pond had historically been larger, or it could just be attributed to more land/woodland acquired by the property. It is interesting to note that by 1844 the mill ‘pond’ at just over eighteen acres, had decreased by seven acres from its potential size of twenty-five acres in the 1500’s. The reduction in the area of water may indicate the silting up of the pond resulting from the changed use of the mill, from a hammer and wire mill requiring a vast volume of water to operate the machinery to a corn mill requiring less water for the milling operation.

Woodcock Mill
During the mid to late 19th century the mill appears with the interchangeable names of Woodcock Mill and Wire Mill, but was almost certainly being operated as a flour mill. Conversion from a wire mill to a flour mill necessitated a change of mechanism and the removal of the hammer, forge and wire drawing machinery. Traditionally much of the gearing mechanism of a flour mill would have been made of wood, but as the conversion of Woodcock Mill occurred during the 19th century, cast iron would probably have replaced the use of wood for much of the mechanism.

The flour mill would have operated on three flours, with the spout floor on the ground level, stone floor at the first level and the bin floor at the top. The waterwheel would have driven a horizontal wooden watershaft on which would have been mounted the pit wheel. It is not known whether both waterwheels were used when the mill operated as a flour mill, or whether one was redundant. The pit wheel would have been a cast-iron bevel gear mounted vertically that meshed with a smaller cast-iron gear called a wallower mounted on a vertical wooden mainshaft. Above the wallower would have been mounted the great spur wheel, made of wood. This would have meshed with the cast-iron stone nuts, small pinions, which drove the grindstones through a vertical shaft or spindle.

The spindle rotated the upper stone called the runner above a fixed bedstone. Grain would have been fed from a hopper into shoe or spout. The shoe would have been vibrated by a vertical piece of machinery called a damsel that shook the grain into the centre of the runner stone. The grinding action moves the grain outwards to the edge of the stones and the finished product falls into meal bins on the ground floor.

At the top of the mainshaft would have been another wheel, the crown wheel, which would have run two ancillary drives. One of these would have powered the sack hoist at the top of the mill, a slack belt operating as a primitive clutch. The other would have driven a flour dresser that would have separated the whole meal into bran and flour.

Thomas Brand
By the spring of 1844, James Jenner had died and his widow Eliza(beth) married Thomas Brand on 29th April 1844, Thomas taking over the mill, which was again referred to as Wire Mill in 1851. Thomas Brand was born in East Grinstead in 1814, being several years younger than Eliza, but little else is known about him.

By 1851 the Brand household included Thomas and his wife Eliza, Thomas listed as a miller and farmer of 85 acres employing five labourers. Living with Thomas and Eliza were Eliza’s children by James Jenner, Samuel aged sixteen, working as a miller’s apprentice with his step-father Thomas, Newington aged twelve and Eliza aged ten, both scholars, along with a daughter by Thomas and Eliza called Susannah aged four. They would appear to have also had a son called Thomas in 1846 but he was not listed in the household on the day of the census. Also living in the house with the Brand family were John Holman aged thirty-six and Charles Wood aged seventeen, both working as agricultural labourers and probably being two of the five labourers employed by Thomas Brand, along with Amy Huggett a twenty-year old servant from Burstow who had replaced Jane Russell as a domestic since the last census.

The remaining labourers employed by Thomas Brand were probably those living in the pair of cottages near the mill, John Taylor, and Thomas and William Bishop. John Taylor was aged sixty and in 1841 had been working as an agricultural labourer whilst in 1851 he gave his occupation as a miller’s labourer, possible one and the same thing. Living with John Taylor was his wife Elizabeth aged sixty-two. The other cottage was home to Thomas Bishop aged thirty-eight and William his son, aged twenty, both working as agricultural labourers, and sharing their house was their housekeeper, Elizabeth Whatmore aged fifty-one. The Bishops had moved from the Snow Hill area where they had been living in 1841.

In 1855, whilst Thomas Brand was at Wire Mill, the Felbridge Estate was sold by Lady Selina Charlotte Jenkinson, Viscountess Milton, daughter of the Hon Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, the Earl of Liverpool to George Gatty of Crowhurst in Sussex. At the time of the sale Thomas Brand was recorded as holding 107 acres 1 rood and 37 perches, having acquired a further twenty-two acres since 1851. The sale catalogue gives the first good description of the holding called ‘The Wire Pond, or Woodcock Mill and Farm’, consisting of:
‘of a neat Brick and Tiled House containing 5 Bedrooms and Lobby, a Parlour, Counting House, Kitchen, Wash-house, small Dairy, Pantry, Cellar, Mangling Room. A capital large garden enclosed with fine Quick, Yew and Box hedges and shrubs. The outbuildings comprise of 2 tiled Sheds in Cow Yard, a boarded Stable for 5 horses (tiled), an Ox Shed, and a Waggon Lodge (tiled).
Also:
A Spacious Flour mill situated upon the Sheet of Water No.154 in a romantic, secluded spot, worked by 2 Overshot Wheels and driving 4 Pairs of Stones with Grinding Floor and Corn Chambers – altogether a commodious Building. The lands, with detached Barn and Yard (No.164) embrace about 107 acres.
Schedule
No. on Plan Description Cultivation Area Total
192 Upper Spring Arable 07. 01. 30
193 Upper Bushy (part of) Arable 05. 03. 27
136 Five Acres Meadow 04. 03. 26
137 Little Mead Meadow 01. 00. 06
138 Sawpit Mead Meadow 03. 00. 03
142 Sawpit Mead Pasture 00. 03. 33
157 Barn Mead Pasture 03. 00. 36
165 Barn Field Pasture 00. 02. 33
189 Lower Spring Pasture 03. 01. 22
16a Pasture Pasture 05. 00. 26
155 Pond Tail Pasture 05. 02. 35
156 Pond Tail Pasture 06. 00. 26
143 Mill, Plot & cottage 00. 03. 10
166 Part of Pond Tail Meadow 00. 00. 21
183 Wood Wood 02. 01. 26
184 Shaw Shaw 00. 00. 30
186 Shaw Shaw 01. 00. 04
140 House & c. 00. 03. 06
141 Yard 00. 01. 00
145 Cottage, & c. 00. 00. 35
146 Buildings 00. 00. 18
164 Yard, Barn & c. 00. 00. 30
185 Road 00. 01. 20
187 Pond Water 00. 00. 12
188 Road 00. 01. 03
139 Bridge Arable 04. 02. 27
144 4 ½ Acres Arable 04. 02. 16
147 Barrack Arable 10. 00. 32
158 Four Acres Arable 04. 02. 16
160 Six Acres Arable 07. 00. 04
161 Long Arable 04. 03. 35
162 Three Acres Arable 03. 00. 24
163 Barn Field Pasture 04. 03. 07
190 Pt. Lower Bush Field Arable 02. 03. 19
Total in Godstone 101. 00. 04
85 Arable 03. 03. 08
86 Arable 02. 02. 25
Total in Tandridge 06. 01. 33
Total 107. 01. 37

Rent Charge to the Vicar of Godstone £8 17s 0d
Land Tax £3 1s 0d
Total £11 18s 0d
Schedule
No. on Plan Description Cultivation Area Total
154 The Wire or Hammer Pond in Godstone Water 18. 02. 15 18. 02. 15

At the time of the sale in 1855, the schedule for ‘Woodcock Mill and Farm’ indicates that the mill had become part of Woodcock Farm, or vice versa. The Lot had gained the cottage in plot 145, which was not part of the holding in 1844 but the mill pond was advertised as a separate Lot. However, it is known, from future records, that the mill pond was retained with Woodcock Mill and Farm, until at least 1912.

In 1861, the Brand household consisted of Thomas, calling himself a miller and farmer of one hundred acres and employing four men and two boys, his wife Eliza, and two of Eliza’s children from her first marriage, Newington and Eliza Jenner, Newington now working as a miller with Thomas, his step-father. Visiting the family on the day of the census was Emily Brand, the thirty-four year old daughter-in-law of Thomas Brand, and her daughter Emily Jane aged nine, both born in Hartfield in Sussex, along with a male visitor born in Ireland called Mapinham [illegible], a sawyer’s clerk aged sixty-five, and servant Sarah Sargent aged nineteen working as a house servant. Still living in the pair of cottages near the mill was John Taylor, now widowed and aged seventy, with John Holman aged forty-four, James White aged nineteen and Thomas Huggett aged fourteen, all four men working as agricultural labourers, probably on Woodcock Farm for Thomas Brand. And in the other cottage was Thomas Bishop with only his housekeeper Elizabeth Whatmore, his son William was not recorded suggesting that he may have moved on.

Also living in the vicinity at 1 Rabies, part of the property called Rabies on the Newchapel Road off Newchapel Green in Felbridge, was Edward Chapman, described as a ‘miller’s loader’, presumably working at Wire Mill being that this was the nearest mill in 1861. Edward Chapman had been born in East Grinstead in 1821, and was living with his wife Harriet, aged thirty-six also born in East Grinstead, along with their children Susan aged ten, Thomas aged eight, Rhoda aged five, Harriet aged three and John aged eight months. The first two children were born in East Grinstead, the remaining three in Lingfield, suggesting that the Chapman family had moved from East Grinstead to Newchapel around 1856. It is perhaps interesting to note that the property called Rabies had formerly been a single dwelling, believed to have been named after Edward or Alexander Raby, the two gentlemen that ran the iron industry in the Felbridge area from about 1758 until 1774. By the mid 1800’s the property had been divided into three tenements but in recent years has been converted as a pair of properties.

In June 1866, Susannah, the daughter of Thomas and Eliza Brand, married Charles Holmden, a twenty-four year old miller and son of Thomas Holmden a farmer of Felbridge. The marriage took place at St John’s Church at Felbridge. By 1881, Charles Holmden was recorded as farmer and miller of Scarlets House, Cowden in Kent, and by 1927, C Holmden & Sons were listed in the Kelly’s Directory as the millers at Brambletye mill. Three years after the marriage of Susannah Brand her step-brother Newington Jenner married Eliza Cooper, the twenty-three year old daughter of John Cooper a farmer of Blindley Heath in Surrey. Eliza and Newington Jenner also married at St John’s Church in Felbridge and settled in Lingfield, where, by 1881, Newington Jenner was working as a grocer. As for Newington’s brother Samuel, he married a woman called Sarah, and after serving his apprenticeship at Wire Mill moved, as miller, to Oxted before becoming a Commission Agent in Brighton by 1891.

In 1871, Thomas Brand was still running Wire Mill and the farm. At the time of the census his wife Eliza was not recorded in the Brand household although Thomas was recorded as still being married. Living with Thomas were servants, Sidney Killick, a twenty-year old farm servant and Susan Bryant an eighteen-year old servant. Sidney Killick was the nephew of John Killick, the head gamekeeper at Chartham Park and later the Felbridge Estate [For further details see More Biographies from the churchyard of St John the Divine, Felbridge, Estate Workers of the Gatty Family, SJC11/03, Handout.]. Still living in the pair of cottages near the mill was John Holman who had succeeded John Taylor as head of the household, John Taylor having died since the last census in 1861. John Holmden, who had given his occupation as an agricultural labourer ten years earlier, was listed as a miller in 1871, and living with him was John Burfield, another miller, aged twenty-eight from Westerham in Kent. Having three men listed as millers would suggest that either there was a boom in agriculture having a knock on effect in the milling operation or that Thomas Brand, now in his advancing years, was perhaps reducing his time spent working the mill, or was concentrating on the farm.

Living in the second cottage was the Heaseman family, although ten years later, and from then forward, they are recorded as the Baldwin family! Evidence shows that all the children were baptised with the surname Baldwin and as such the family will be referred to as Baldwin. Head of the household was William aged thirty-five working as a loader. In 1871, he gave his birth place as Hartfield in Sussex, although in 1881 it had changed to Cowden in Kent. Living with William was his wife Caroline aged thirty-six, born in Salisbury in Wiltshire. The Baldwin family had moved from the Clapham area in about 1865 as their first two children living with them in 1871 were born in Clapham, Eliza in 1861 and George in May 1862. The remaining three children were all born in Godstone, Betsy in 1866, John in 1868 and James in June 1869, implying that the Baldwin family moved to Wire Mill around 1865. As a point of interest, James Baldwin went on to become a Metropolitan Policeman and was sadly murdered whilst on duty on 2nd October 1898. [For further details see Biographies from the churchyard of St John the Divine, Felbridge, SJC09/02, Handout]

In 1881, the census records Thomas Brand, aged thirty-five as operating Wire Mill, this may be another Thomas Brand, however, no other Thomas Brand of that age has yet come to light suggesting that it was a mis-transcription of age. In the 1881 census, Thomas Brand’s occupation was listed as a ‘(Wire) miller and farmer of one hundred and fifty acres, employing eight labourers’, the farm having increased by forty-three acres since 1855. Living with Thomas was his wife Sarah aged fifty-two. The reference to ‘wire miller’ implies that perhaps wire was still being made at Woodcock Mill, although this was the first and only time that Thomas Brand was referred to as a ‘wire miller’.

Also living in the Brand household were Frederick Holmden, a widower aged thirty-four born in Tandridge, giving his occupation as a loader and miller, presumably assisting Thomas Brand at the mill, and Annie Stone a twenty-seven year old domestic servant. Frederick Holmden may have been related to Charles Holmden who had married Susannah Brand in 1866; however, no conclusive evidence has come to light to prove a relationship.

John Holman was still living on one of the cottages near the mill, by then called Wire Mill Cottages, and lodging with him was George Wheeler a widower aged fifty-six, both working as farm labourers. Still living in the other cottage was the Baldwin family. By 1881, son George Baldwin, by then aged eighteen, had left home and was working at Gate House Farm at Newchapel, and the family had increased by a further five children, Sarah Annie known as Anne born in 1871, Charles born in 1873, Fanny born in 1874, Henry born in 1876 and Kate born in 1878. Father William Baldwin gave his occupation as a ‘(Corn) miller’s loader’, confirming that the mill was definitely operating as a flour mill in 1881. This is confirmed by the memoirs of an old Felbridge resident whose family has lived in the Felbridge area since the 19th century. Her memoirs record that the Wire Mill, for most of the late 19th century, was a corn and flour mill that ground trefoil seed and corn.

The Thomas Brand of the 1881 census continued to operate Wire Mill and run the farm until 1887/8, when he was succeeded by David Dadswell.

David Dadswell
David Dadswell was born in 1853 in East Grinstead, the son of Thomas and his wife Harriet née Bassett. He had at least six brothers and sisters, Jane born about 1845 in Heathfield, Mary born in 1846 in Buxted, Harriett born about 1847 in Rotherfield, Edwin born in 1850 in East Grinstead, Kate born in 1855 in East Grinstead, and Thomas born about 1857 in Burstow. David married Mary Ann Streatfield born in 1852 in Withyham in Sussex, the daughter of John Streatfield and his wife Susannah née Godley. David Dadswell and Mary Ann Streatfield married about 1877 and settled in Selsfield, West Hoathly, where David worked as a miller, having moved from Kent. They had at least seven children, John born in around 1878, Clara baptised in 1878, Nellie born in 1880, Thomas born about 1883, David born in 1888, William born in 1889 and Gladys Maddelena born in 1900, the first four children being born at Selsfield and the last three at Wiremill. Sadly, Gladys died at six months and was buried at St John’s Church, Felbridge.

In 1891, the Dadswell family were still living at Wire Mill and boarding with them was Luke Godley a twenty-one year old widower from Hartfield in Sussex, working as a miller with David Dadswell. Living in one of the properties near the mill, called Wire Mill Cottages, was George Dadswell and his family. George was David’s cousin, the son of William Dadswell, brother of David’s father Thomas Dadswell. George Dadswell had been born about 1850 in East Grinstead and worked as a carter at Hurstpierpoint in Sussex before moving to Worth around 1882 and then Wiremill. George had married Mary Bowles in 1879 at Hurstpierpoint and they had at least four children, Charlotte born in 1878, Charles born in 1880, Alice born in 1883 and Cecilia born in 1884, the first two in Hurstpierpoint and the second two in Worth.

By 1894, Moses Chapman had joined David and George Dadswell at Wire Mill, working as a stockman, and he and his wife Mary and daughter Ann were living in one of the cottages known as Wire Mill Cottages, George Dadswell and his family living in the other cottage also known as Wire Mill Cottages.

Whilst Wire Mill was in the hands of David Dadswell, the Felbridge Place estate, including the mill, passed from Charles Henry Gatty, (the son and heir of George Gatty who had died in 1864), to two male cousins, Alfred Leighton Sayer and Charles Lane Sayer in December 1903. The Sayers kept the estate for seven years after the death of Charles Gatty before selling it to Mrs Emma Harvey, who, along with her son Percy Portway Harvey and the East Grinstead Estate Company, put the entire estate up for auction in May 1911. [For further details see Felbridge Place, SJC10/99, Handout]

Wire Mill was part of the Felbridge Place estate auction as Lot 35, as, being described as:
A valuable freehold agricultural Sporting & Business property including the Old-Established Flour Mills known as Wire Mill and Farm, in the Parish of Godstone about 3 miles from the Market Town of East Grinstead and Stations, 2 ½ miles from Lingfield Station.

The property comprises of about 157a 0r 27p, principally Pasture and Arable land, together with a Picturesque Old-Fashioned Residence, built of brick with tiled roof and containing 6 Bedrooms, 2 Sitting rooms and good Offices.

Very productive old garden and lawn, with grand old Cedar tree.

The Old-Established Corn and Flour Mill, brick and timber built with slate roof with 2 overshot water wheels.

The Lake of about 14 acres in extent, affords valuable water power for the mill, and included in the Sale is the advantage of control of the sluices etc. at Hedgecourt Lake, provided that such control is reasonably exercised, but not so as to interfere with the user of the Lake in the breeding or preservation of fish or general enjoyment thereof, and also the Purchaser of this Lot shall covenant to keep the sluices etc. in good repair.

Excellent Fishing, Boating and Wild Fowl shooting.

2 small Detached Cottages.

The Farm Buildings include capital Stabling, 2 Cart sheds, Wagon Lodge, 3 Bullock Sheds and Yards, Corn and Meal Stores etc. The Farm includes some very useful land bordered by woods and there are some excellent sites for a large residence.

This little Estate would particularly appeal to a gentleman of sporting proclivities seeking a picturesque retreat of moderate dimensions, within easy reach of London; whilst by letting the Mill and Agricultural land the sporting rights might be rendered most inexpensive.

Long Frontage to the London Road.

Possession of the woodlands can be given on completion. Possession of the house, Mill and Farmlands at Michaelmas next. The Shooting rights until February 1912, over this Lot are reserved.

Note – Certain machinery in the Mill is the property of the tenant and has to been taken at valuation in addition to the ordinary tenant right.

The commutes Tithes apportioned for the purpose of the Sale amount to £27 4s 2d, present value £19 0s 11d
Schedule
No. on Plan Description Cultivation Area Total
90 11.213
91 10.193
93 5.849
101 3.002
102 4.979
103 Cottage & Garden 0.370
104 Arable 6.055
105 Arable 7.413
106 Arable 8.505
121 Pasture 5.019
122 Arable 4.573
123 Wire Mill Wood Wood 20.934
125 House, Cott., Builds etc 2.678
126 Arable 0.928
127 Mill, Occupation Road 1.267
143 Arable 10.202
144 Pasture 1.635
145 Pasture 1.570
148 Rough Grass 3.234
150 Marsh & Waste 12.780
151 Plantation 1.109
152 Pasture 3.464
153 Roadway & Pasture Pasture 2.527
124 Mill Pond Water 14.263
69 Arable 5.854
92 Pasture 7.554
Total 157.170

By 1911, the lake had decreased in size to only fourteen acres compared to eighteen at the time of the last sale in 1855. The holding also included Wire Mill Wood, formerly known as Hammerwood, which had not been part of the holding in 1855, but it had lost two fields in Tandridge and four fields in Godstone, amounting to about twenty-seven acres, and a small Woodland and Shaw, amounting to about four acres, abutting Coopers Moors to the southeast of the holding, although it had gained thirty-three acres to the northwest of the holding since 1855. It is interesting to note that the water at Wire Mill Lake and Hedgecourt Lake was still under the control of the owner of Wire Mill, as long as they were reasonable in their use and maintained the sluices at both Wire Mill and Hedgecourt.

At the time of the break up and sale of the Felbridge Place Estate, David Dadswell was recorded as the tenant of both Wire Mill and Farm and the cottages known as Raby’s Cottages, the three tenements at Newchapel Green. George Dadswell and Moses Chapman were still living in Wire Mill Cottages, and Thomas Dadswell and another David Dadswell were both lodging in furnished rooms on the first floor of the mill. However, by 1912 the Dadswells had left the Wire Mill area which had been split up and partially sold by the East Grinstead Estate Company.

There is evidence that not all of the Wire Mill area sold in May 1911 as later that year or early in 1912 another attempt was made to sell land in the Wire Mill area as Lot 7 of a second auction. The Wire Mill area that was left unsold in 1911 was put back up for auction along with Felbridge Place its mansion and grounds, Hedgecourt Lake and mill, and several other areas of the former Felbridge Place estate that had not sold in the initial auction.

In this auction of circa 1912, Wire Mill and Farm were advertised as ‘An important freehold investment’ with the following description:
The origin of the name of this property is, like that of Jeames de la Plush, ‘wrapt in mystery.’ That such a Brummagen product as wire was ever made in such sylvan surroundings is quite unthinkable. The whole environment is indicative of the pursuit of the arts of husbandry and bucolic peace.

At the present time, in addition to the old-fashioned flour mills, the property presents considerable attractions as a sporting and agricultural estate. With a long frontage to the London road, its one hundred and fifty-seven acres are principally pasture and arable land of fair quality, but they also include a twenty acre wood and fourteen acre lake, and offer several eligible sites for the erection of a large house.

The diversified character of this estate gives it a very strong claim to the consideration of several classes of buyer. It also readily adapts itself to profitable sub-division.

Approached by a good occupation road running out of the main London road, is a comfortable old-fashioned residence, picturesquely nestling in a trim garden under a giant cedar tree. Built of brick, with a tiled roof, it contains half-a-dozen bedrooms, a couple of living rooms and good offices.

This estate should particularly appeal to a sport-loving gentleman seeking a picturesque retreat of moderate dimensions, within easy reach of London. By letting the mill and agricultural land, the sporting rights might be rendered most inexpensive.

On the opposite side of the road is a comprehensive range of farm buildings and the corn and flour mill, a commodious brick and timber, slate-roofed structure, with two overshot water wheels.

The lake, of about fourteen acres in extent, affords valuable water power for the mill, and
Incidental to the ownership of this property is the advantage of the control of the sluices etc. at Hedgecourt Lake, subject to such control being reasonably exercised but not to interfere with the user of the Lake in the breeding or preservation of fish or general enjoyment thereof. A covenant to keep the sluices etc. in good repair is also involved in the purchase.

Good fishing and punting may be enjoyed, and with the adjoining marshland and woods excellent wild fowl shooting is obtainable. The establishment of a fish hatchery might doubtless be made a source of considerable profit.

There are also two modern detached cottages on the estate which are useful for the accommodation of employees, besides adding considerably to the air of domestic beauty which provides the cluster of buildings nestling in the lovely sylvan dell un which the mill is situated.

As well appears from the photographs, all the surroundings are extremely picturesque. The location is exceptionally convenient, being about two miles from Lingfield, and three from East Grinstead. The main road frontages are valuable both for present convenience if access and future development.

Possession of the house, mill, farmlands and woodlands can be given on completion of the purchase, or the Mill with house would be let.

With the development of the whole of the Felbridge lands and the general trend of the neighbourhood towards more intensive cultivation of the soil, it may be safely predicted that a well equipped and well managed mill must prove a sound commercial proposition in such a location and with natural advantages as are possessed by Wire Mill. Therefore it may be assumed that anyone taking chief interest in the agricultural, sporting or residential sections of the estate would have little difficulty in letting or disposing of the Mill and its appurtenances advantageously and readily.

Certain machinery in the mill is the property of the tenant and has to be taken at valuation in addition to the ordinary tenant right.

Schedule
No. on Plan Description Cultivation Area Total
101 3.002
102 4.979
103 Cottage & Garden 0.370
104 Arable 6.055
105 Arable 7.413
106 Arable 8.505
121 Pasture 5.019
122 Arable 4.573
123 Wire Mill Wood Wood 20.934
125 House, Cott., Builds etc 2.678
126 Arable 0.928
127 Mill, Occupation Road 1.267
143 Arable 10.202
144 Pasture 1.635
145 Pasture 1.570
148 Rough Grass 3.234
150 Marsh & Waste 12.780
151 Plantation 1.109
152 Pasture 3.464
153 Roadway & Pasture Pasture 2.527
124 Mill Pond Water 14.263
Total 103.627

Between the two auction dates of 1911 and circa 1912, the holding of Wire Mill and Farm had decreased by nearly fifty-four acres from just over 157 acres to just short of 104 acres. The reduced acreage was due to the loss or sale of land to the north and northwest of the holding as advertised in 1911. Circa 1912, there is reference to two ‘modern detached cottages’ located in plot 125, which included the mill and the property now known as Legend. In the 1911 sale the cottages were described as merely two ‘small cottages’ and were not listed at all in the 1855 sale. The only other building standing within the plot reference was a property on the site of what is now called Toad Hall, located just east of the mill itself.

By the second auction circa 1912, the bulk of Lot 7 was unsold and was retained by the East Grinstead Estate Company, being leased to Henry Smeed. The remainder of the Lot had been divided and purchased by four individuals. Freehold arable land, plots 101, 102 and 126, and the house on plot 125, (now called Legend), were jointly purchased and occupied by Miss Laura Gertrude Whitfield and Hilda Maude Ransome, calling the property Garden Cottage. Freehold land to the south east of the lake, formerly part of Wire Mill Farm was purchased by Herbert Malcolm who also purchased the freehold land of Woodcock Hill. The remainder of Lot 7, including the mill, stores and a hut, the farm and buildings at Wire Mill, two cottages and their gardens (Wire Mill Cottages, occupied by Moses Chapman and Arthur Killick), and the mill pond and adjoining marsh land was sold to Major Alexander Stuart Crum, who in turn leased everything, except the mill, to Henry Smeed.

By 1914, Major Crum had acquired more of the Wire Mill area with the purchase of plot 143, the second field on the south of Wire Mill Lane, on which he had built Wire Mill House and later Wire Mill House Lodge. Also by 1914, Misses Whitfield and Ransome had purchased two cottages and their gardens in the Wire Mill area.

Wire Mill Estate
In early 1918, there was a third and final attempt to sell the residue of what had become termed the Wire Mill Estate, appearing in the sale catalogue entitled ‘Cuttinglye and its Environs’. The Wire Mill Estate was advertised as a ‘sporting and fruit-growing estate, overlooking lake, affording several high and charming sites for residences’, stating that:
The Estate is 54 ½ acres in extent, comprising meadow, arable and wood land, with private drive from the main (London) road , and overlooking the picturesque Wire Mill Lake, the haunt of wild duck and water fowl in abundance. The owner of the lake grants permits for fishing and sport. The valuable timber will be included in the purchase.

The diversified character of the Wire Mill Estate gives it a very strong claim to the consideration of several classes of buyers.

Approached by a good occupation road running out of the main London road, this estate should particularly appeal to those seeking a picturesque retreat of moderate dimensions within easy reach of London. All the surroundings are extremely picturesque and overlooks the large and ornamental Wire Mill Lake. The location is exceptionally convenient, being within easy reach of both East Grinstead and Lingfield. The land is peculiarly suitable for orchard cultivation, for which purpose it has been strongly recommended by one of the most successful apple growers of the United Kingdom.

The property at the same time affords a delightful ground for a gentleman’s residence, set well back from the road and commanding extensive views south and south-west.

The Cooper’s Moors Wood, 37 ½ acres, with its long and valuable frontages, can be included and comprised, if the purchaser so desires.

This property is sold subject to certain rights of way enjoyed by the owner of Wire Mill and lands held therewith, of passing over the property between points A, B, C and D on the plan and from point D along the cart track to Wire Mill.
Schedule
No. on Plan Description Cultivation Area Total
104 Arable 6.055
105 Arable 7.413
106 Arable 8.505
121 Pasture 5.019
122 Arable 4.573
123 pt Wire Mill Wood Wood 20.934
152 Pasture 3.464
153 Roadway & Pasture Pasture 2.527
Total 54.490

As already established the lake and adjoining land amounting to just over fifty acres, including the mill, house, cottages and barns, had previously been sold to either Major Crum or Misses Whitfield and Ransome, resulting in just the farmland and Wire Mill Wood to the east and south of the lake, down to Coopers Moors, up for auction in early 1918. However, the remaining fifty-four and a half acres known as the Wire Mill Estate only appeared in the first edition of the sale catalogue of Cuttinglye and its Environs and had been removed from the Revised Edition, dated July 1918, having already been sold to Mr H F Sturdy.

By 1920, Misses Whitfield and Ransome had sold Garden Cottage to Leonard M Pink, along with their two cottages and gardens, and by 1921, Major Crum had sold the mill, store and hut to Miss Wilkins who converted the mill into a dwelling house, calling it Wire Mill. On conversion the rateable value of the property rose from £10 to £30.

By 1922 Major Crum had sold most of his interest in the Wire Mill area to the Women’s Farm and Garden Union who had also purchased Wire Mill, the recently converted mill, the store and hut from Miss Wilkins. The Women’s Farm and Garden Union was a national movement set up in 1910 to promote women in agriculture which, like everything else at that time, was predominately male orientated. The secretary for the Wire Mill Union was Mrs Miles Benson, and by 1922 the Union’s holding in the Wire Mill area amounted to the mill, the mill pond and surrounding marsh land, the farm buildings and yard, land and four cottages, predominantly occupied by women, and by 1926 their holding had risen by a further two cottages and gardens and Garden Cottage purchased from Leonard M Pink.

Wiremill
By 1927, the property called Wire Mill was occupied by Miss Gertrude Beatrice Mould who by 1929, had been joined by Miss Hannah Tate. Miss Mary Arbuthnot Robertson occupied what was called the Wire Mill Tea Gardens; evidence suggests that this was from either the store or hut attached to Wire Mill. It is unclear when the Women’s Farm and Garden Union sold their interest in the property known as Wire Mill, but by 1933 Wire Mill and the Wire Mill Tea Gardens, the building that had once been used as the hammer mill, wire mill, flour mill and house, had become the Wire Mill Fishing Club, occupied by Walter Pearce and Alexander and Florence Ward. Two years later this had been taken over by Arthur Hugh Simmons and his wife Esther Emily. It is unclear whether Wire Mill operated as a hotel as well as a fishing club at this time and its activities during the Second World War have not been investigated, but by 1948 Wire Mill was operating as a Hotel and Fishing Club, with a good description documented in Old Surrey Water Mills by J Hiller that reads thus:
I advise any one who likes fishing and good fare to make a detour to the mill and the lovely pool. Naturally there are few traces of the old industry, except the wheel-well of the over-shot wheel, and the mill is now a hotel and the headquarters of a very fortunate angling club.

The weather-boarded walls are whiter than ever they were at work, and nowadays this little building with its jutting lucomb at one side and its tall dormer windows on the other, has a comfortable air of well-being and good living. A note of distinction is given to the river frontage by a glass case in a green-painted frame, fixed high up on the wall, and containing a jack pike of such enormity that if tales of a Wire Mill Pond Monster had circulated before its capture, one could have forgiven the credulous.

Moored alongside the ‘jetty’ are punts and other boats, and I imagine no more halcyon day than one spent idling on the water and angling, watching the kingfishers and the graceful reed buntings, listening to the bird song, including the jerky, spasmodic outpouring of reed warblers (uncommon in Surrey), and perhaps occasionally, if my eye chanced to stray to the float, taking aboard an importunate fish. Even I, no apt pupil of the gentle Isaac, could not fail to hook something here – in June, just after the opening of the season, the pond was as full of fish as the pools of Eden must have been – that other Eden not this.

By 1962 the property was being promoted as a ‘Lakeside Hotel, Country and Fishing Club’. The facilities were offered to members and non-members and included weekend dances, water skiing, fishing, riding and clay pigeon shooting. During the next decade the Wiremill Country Club grew in popularity attracting a clientele from far and wide. Unfortunately, with its popularity came a growing reputation of raucous late night dances and after hours drinking. Nearby residents of Wiremill Lane naturally began to complain about the noise and anti-social behaviour connected with excessive drink, the Club being described as a ‘drinking and dancing den’. The outcome of the complaints resulted in the Health and Recreation Committee for Tandridge District Council refusing to renew the Club’s music and dancing licence. However, the Club continued to run the weekend music and dancing, stopping at midnight instead of 1 am, but without the licence they could not apply for a special hours drinking certificate to allow them to keep the bar open as before.

Eventually the Wiremill was put up for sale and in 1986 the property was purchased by McGurran Quest Inns Ltd for £245,000, a far cry from the £2,000 asking price in 1911! Shortly after the purchase, the building caught fire whilst undergoing alterations and renovation work. Fortunately the structure was not severely damaged with only the loss of half the roof, although the remainder of the building suffered some water damage. Six months later, in September 1986, the refurbished Wiremill re-opened its doors to the public once again, offering a restaurant, a function room, two bars with bar snacks, and a terrace area over-looking the lake leading from the main bar.

In 1996, the Wiremill was taken over by husband and wife team Gus and Viv O’Keefe who jointly ran it with the Old Cage in Lingfield. After four years they decided to sell the Wiremill to concentrate on their business at the Old Cage. In March 2000, Wiremill was again sold and became part of a chain of businesses run by Massive of Twickenham.

Today the Wiremill is described as a ‘traditional country pub’ and a venue catering for small functions of up to seventy people. The three floors of the original wire mill building create a split-level pub and restaurant, the main pub area at the top, with a restaurant serving French cuisine one level down and a small seating area and washroom facilities a further level down. The main pub area gives access to a patio beside the lake used by the Wiremill Water Ski Club. In the summer one of the biggest attractions at Wiremill is the ‘Jazz on the Lake’ music evenings, which have again established Wiremill as a music venue, fortunately less raucous than the days of the Wiremill Country Club of the 1970’s and 80’s.

Wiremill – from Hammer Mill to Pub
It has been established that the property known as Wiremill dates to about 1561, working as a hammer mill known as the Woodcock Forge. There is also evidence for the existence of a water powered flour mill in the vicinity before that date, but the exact location has not yet been established. The site that accommodated the original hammer mill has been used for the structure nearest the pond-day running east/west, although little (if anything) survives of any original building. It has also been established that the lake, originally termed a ‘pond’, was man-made and the third in a series of man-made lakes along a tributary to the River Eden that served the iron industry of Felbridge from the mid 16th to late 18th centuries.

It has also been established that between 1787 and 1800 the Woodcock Forge was converted as a wire mill. The change of use would have been relatively simple as both a hammer mill and wire mill needed a pair of waterwheels to run the hammer and bellows, both required in the process of converting pig iron to bar iron, as in the hammer mill, or metal ingots, be it copper, brass, iron or precious metal, to wire. The only additional requirement of a wire mill was larger building with good light to house the drawing machinery. This requirement necessitated the construction of the building that runs north from the original structure.

The next development of Wiremill came around 1817 when it ceased being a wire mill and was converted as a flour mill, grinding trefoil seed and corn. As a flour mill the hammer, bellows and drawing machinery were redundant being replaced by a flour milling mechanism, and having two pairs of grind stones suggests that both waterwheels were still in use. Wiremill remained a flour mill for just short of a hundred years before it was sold off as part of the break-up of the Felbridge Place estate. The sale brought to an end over three hundred and fifty years of milling on the premises, the building being converted first as a dwelling house and then for use in the leisure industry, as a hotel, later with the addition of a country club, and then as a bar and restaurant as it is still run today.

It is inevitable that with a building that is nearly four hundred and fifty years old, traditions have been attributed to it other the years. A widely known local legend is that the nails for the re-building of St Paul’s Cathedral were wrought at Wiremill. The original cathedral burnt down in the Great Fire of London in 1666, the commission for the new design being won by Sir Christopher Wren. The impressive building that we see today is reputed to be the fourth on the site, being built between 1675 and 1710, during the time that Jeremy Johnson held Wiremill as the Woodcock Forge. Detailed accounts were kept during the construction of St Paul’s, which still survive, but on investigation there is no mention of nails being supplied by Woodcock Forge or references that indicate any coming from the Felbridge area.

Wiremill, inevitably due to its great age, is also reported to be haunted. The ghost is reputed to be that of a worker who fell into the ‘lower mechanism’. For the mill to have any ‘lower mechanism’ implies that it was a flour mill at the time of the accident, however there is no evidence for such an accident being reported. This story may have been fabricated in more recent years helping to spice up its history!

Wiremill still retains fragments the original hammer and wire mill buildings but is now devoid of any machinery except a millstone propped up against a wall outside, (relocated from the main bar where it used to stand), a reminder of its life as a flour mill, the last phase of the milling operations in the history of a property that stretches back nearly four hundred and fifty years.

Bibliography
Lagham Court Books, P25/21/11, SHC
Lease of 1533, Harl 79 f 33, BL
Iron Trade in England and Wales 1500-1815, P Wickham King, 2003.
Notes on the Iron Industry of Felbridge by N McIver, FHA
Lingfield Parish Registers, HMLHC
The Iron Industry of the Weald by Cleere and Crossley
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IGI
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CAMRA
The Wiremill Inn, http://eugeneportman.com

SJC 03/06