Homewell Parchment Works

Homewell Parchment Works

Parchment making works dating from the late 18th or early 19th century until the late 19th century. The complex comprises multiple brick and timber-framed buildings with slate roofs, weatherboarded and corrugated-iron clad sections, arranged around a central drying yard.

The Hanging and Liming Lofts stand to the northeast of the yard, dating to around the mid-19th century. These are brick buildings with gable-ended slate roofs. They housed the initial stages of parchment making. Two skin soaking tanks, fed from the stream, survive on the ground floor though filled in. Skins were limed on the first floor and hung to dry on the second floor, which features a slatted construction and louvred windows for ventilation. The north gable contains an oculus window.

At the northeast corner sits a Treatment Shed with weatherboarded timber framing and gabled slate roofs, dating to around the late 19th century. The ground floor originally contained at least 17 soaking tanks fed by the stream which passes through the southeast corner of the building. The first floor probably served for storage of lime used in the initial and finishing stages of parchment making.

Flanking the entrance on the east side is a former office and store, constructed around the late 18th or early 19th century in brick with a 2-span slate gable-ended roof. Originally single storey and possibly the gatehouse or office building, it was raised to two storeys in the mid-19th century and extended on the north side in the early 20th century.

The skin processing range occupies the southeast side of the yard. Dating from the early to mid-19th century, this is a long two-storey brick range with slate roof, probably used for the intermediate stages of parchment making including removal of fat from skins and splitting them, the outer skin being diverted for leather production. The building originally had low ceilings and has since had its first floor removed. At the south end stands an early to mid-19th-century single-storey range where final stages of the process occurred before drying, involving application of whiting and soda to remove grease.

A Scalding range stands at the southeast end of the yard, dating to around the mid-19th century. Weatherboarded, it was used for heating water and scalding skins before drying. The floor contains two parallel drainage channels.

On the southwest side of the yard stands a Drying Shed, constructed around the late 18th or early 19th century. It features weatherboarded and corrugated-iron clad timber framing with a corrugated-iron gable-ended roof. Originally open on the east side to the drying yard, the roof has been raised and the floor structure lowered.

A Drying Chamber occupies the west side of the yard, dating from the late 18th or early 19th century. Constructed in brick with a hipped slate roof, it contained a kiln for drying finished parchment during damp weather. Two of the four bays retain smoke-blackened plaster hoods. The floor has been removed, and a wide doorway opens to the east facing the yard.

Flanking the east side of the entrance is a Warehouse, dating between 1847 and 1866 according to map evidence. Built in brick, the gable end facing the entrance features horizontally pivoting windows with cambered arches and a loading door on the first floor. A later outshut extends along the north side.

The Homewell Parchment Works remained in ownership of the Stallard family until closure in 1936, making it the last parchment works to close in Havant. The complex survives in a remarkably complete state with most component buildings of the parchment making process remaining intact.