Flint Mill (Central Part Of Higher Washford Mill)

Flint Mill, located in the central part of Higher Washford Mill, is a late 18th-century structure that may have originally functioned as a corn mill before becoming a silk mill and eventually a flint grinding mill, which is now disused. The building was extended in the early and mid-19th century and features late 19th and early 20th-century machinery. It is constructed of dressed coursed pink sandstone and English garden wall bond brick, topped with a Welsh slate roof. The mill has a square plan and consists of three storeys and an attic, with a two-bay north river front.

The stone ground storey is supported by a base of large blocks and houses a breast shot cast-iron bucket waterwheel, approximately 18 feet in diameter. To the left and on either side of the original wheelpit are segmentally arched openings that now contain cast-iron gearing, controls, and a 10 horsepower Gilkes water turbine from 1935. An informal wooden stair leads to a door on the ground storey and a large small pane window with a wedged lintel. The first floor features two similar windows made of brick with stone quoins, while the top storey, entirely in brick, has a row of 16-pane sash windows with wedged stone lintels. The south entrance front mirrors this design, with a wooden stair leading to a raised original doorway and an added loading bay.

Flanking the main building are long wings that were part of former textile mills, which are not of special interest. Inside, the floors are supported by heavy wooden cross beams. The ground storey contains a complete set of flint grinding machinery that operated commercially until 1958 and was last used in 1975. Key components include a circular grinding pan made of riveted iron sheets with wooden paddles, a wash tub of similar construction, and a ball clay mill powered by the turbine. Small hoists and tubs on rails are also present. The drive system was previously extended to the upper storeys and into the adjacent mills for textile machinery operations. The mill is first recorded in directories in 1828, when it was used by silk throwsters. By 1864, it was occupied by William Webberly, a flint, stone, and bone grinder, and in 1883, it was operated by Ford and Son, a manufacturer of potters' materials.