Former Wheel House And Glazing House At Laverstoke Mill

Former Wheel House and Glazing House at Laverstoke Mill

Laverstoke Mill was a large multi-phase paper mill that operated between 1719 and the 1950s. Within the mill complex, two listed buildings are described here: Building No.5, a wheel house constructed as part of a major rebuild in 1854 under the direction of architect Thomas Hellyer of Ryde, and Building No.1, a glazing house dating to 1881. Both are constructed of red brick with slate roofs.

The two buildings abut at their gable ends and are aligned north-south, with the south wing of Building No.5 being the northernmost element. The south wing of Building No.5 is separated from the remainder of that building by a corridor but forms a continuous west-facing façade with Building No.1, and is therefore grouped with it. Together they form a linear development aligned north-south, facing west onto a courtyard containing the mill pond.

Building No.1 is a two-storey, six-bay structure of red brick with vitrified brick dressings. It features a dentilled eaves course, and the pitched slate roof incorporates three louvers with a raised pediment at the northern gable end. The first floor contains six windows and the ground floor has five windows and a door. Each window comprises six panes over nine iron-framed casements, with plain lintels and cast iron sills painted white. The building has been similarly painted to head height. The northern bay has a half-glazed door in place of the lower window. The fifth bay displays two plaques between its pair of windows: an oval plaque within a moulded rectangle inscribed "This house and mill was built by Henry Portal in the year 1719", and below it another plaque within a moulded rectangle inscribed "Rebuilt by Wyndham S. Portal 1881". Attached ranges to the east and south are not of special interest.

The south wing of Building No.5 abuts Building No.1 on its north side and is similarly of two storeys and red brick. It features a pitched slate roof with a west-facing pediment and dentilled eaves course comparable to Building No.1. At first floor level are one casement and three semi-circular-headed windows with ribbed and gauged voussoirs and an oculus above. There is a half-glazed mezzanine balcony. At ground floor level are three casement windows and a corridor abutting the south elevation of Building No.5. The east external wall of Building No.5 has a pulley system relating to the sluice gates, now enclosed by an additional early 20th-century structure. An attached wing to the north is not of special interest.

Internally, both buildings have been adapted for later use. Building No.1 has been subdivided into office accommodation and shows no evidence of its former function. Building No.5 is similarly subdivided on its first floor. On the ground floor, the wheel house remains with the control wheel for the sluice gates still in situ, although this room has been subdivided by the insertion of a concrete wall.

Laverstoke Mill was founded as a paper mill in 1719 by Henry Portal. Prior to 1719, it was the site of a corn mill belonging to Laverstoke Manor, probably one of the two Laverstoke mills recorded in the Domesday Book. The paper mill produced mainly hand-made rag paper and, at the peak of its production in the early 1920s, was one of the largest hand-made paper mills in the country. After the 1950s, paper production was transferred to the nearby Overton Mill, built in 1920-22, which continues producing banknote paper today.

Throughout its entire period of operation, Laverstoke Mill was owned by the Portal family. From 1724, they held an exclusive contract with the Bank of England for the manufacture of banknotes, treasury bills and dividend warrants. Laverstoke also produced currency for other countries, including the Government of India from 1860. The Portal family maintained a close relationship with the Bank of England, and the Laverstoke site was expanded in response to initiatives from the Bank concerning printing technology, contracts for new products, denominations and issues. The present accumulation of buildings on site, with its variety of dates, results from this ad hoc development.

No buildings remain from the earlier periods of the site. The earliest standing buildings date from a rebuilding programme in the mid-1850s, just before the issue of fully printed banknotes. In the early 1850s, the mill was largely rebuilt and new machinery installed, including a water-turbine, a ten horse-power steam boiler, and drying and sizing machines, although the paper continued to be mould-made. Later buildings were added in response to individual contracts.

Building No.1 is a glazing house dating to 1881. In the early 20th century, and possibly earlier, the ground and first floors acted as glazing rooms, where a smooth surface was applied to the paper by pressing it between rolls or calenders. By the early 20th century, the first floor room had become the picking room, where women workers in cubicles removed blemishes from the paper with picking knives. The building was subdivided into offices in the 1950s, and all trace of its former use has been removed.

The south wing of Building No.5 is the wheel house, built in 1854. It is thought to be a rebuild of a structure with the same footprint shown on a circa 1848 plan. In 1854, a water turbine was installed, replacing an original water wheel situated below the wheel house and above the mill tail, with a sluice gate system to direct water onto the turbine. The turbine appears to have been removed in the mid-20th century.

Both buildings retain significant historic and architectural interest in the context of banknote production for the Bank of England. Building No.5 belongs to the 1850s rebuilding programme incorporating new machinery and turbine power, retaining features relating to water flow control through sluice gates. Building No.1 is an imposing structure that was one of the showpieces of the mill complex, bearing plaques with inscriptions relating to the foundation of the mill and the rebuilding of Building No.1. Although no original glazing machinery survives, it retains its external authenticity. Both buildings have strong group value with the listed mill cottages to the south and the listed Laverstoke Mill House.