Stroud: Economic history

ECONOMIC HISTORY.

In 1381 the great majority of the inhabitants of Stroud parish were employed in agriculture; most of those assessed for tax were described as cultivators of the land or labourers, and three tuckers were the only representatives of non-agricultural trades. (fn. 1) In later centuries the increasing dominance of the cloth industry and the growth of Stroud town as a market and commercial centre made agriculture a minority occupation in the parish. In 1608 133 men engaged in various branches of the cloth industry were listed as opposed to 38 employed in other trades and 31 in agriculture, (fn. 2) and in 1831 999 families in the parish were supported by trade and 109 by agriculture. (fn. 3) After the late 19th century a variety of light industries replaced the cloth industry as the main employer of labour.

Agriculture.

Three plough-lands were recorded on Over Lypiatt manor in 1220. (fn. 4) In 1324 the demesne of the manor comprised 192 a. of arable, 6 a. of meadow, and 6 a. of several pasture. (fn. 5) In 1624 the amount of land in hand was greater, including 276 a. of arable, 88 a. of meadow, 127 a. of pasture, including the park around the manor-house, and c. 100 a. of wood. (fn. 6) In 1714 the manor included a warren of 33 a., apparently situated in the area of Conygre wood east of Stroud town; (fn. 7) a piece of land covering 38 a. north-east of Lypiatt park was called the Old Warren c. 1720 but was then under the plough. (fn. 8) Four plough-lands in Lypiatt were held in 1220 by Richard, (fn. 9) whose estate apparently included the lands later belonging to the Freames and to the Hospitallers; no later statement of the demesne on those manors has been found. In 1322 John Walsh's portion of the fragmented Paganhill manor had 39 a. of arable, 1½ a. of meadow, 2½ a. of wood, and the rents from 2 tenements. (fn. 10)

The tenants on Over Lypiatt manor in 1324 were 36 freemen paying a total of £12 12s. in rent and 4 bondmen who paid 60s. for all services. (fn. 11) The tenements of the bondmen later became fragmented or else much of the free land was bought in by the lord of the manor, for by 1558 there were 15 customary tenants and 15 free tenants; the customary tenants, including some whose lands lay in Bisley, mostly held by copy for up to three lives. (fn. 12) John Throckmorton sold off many of the copyholds after 1581, reserving quit-rents out of them, and others he granted away in 1609 on leases of 900 years with rents and heriots payable. (fn. 13) In 1656, besides free tenants, there were 7 'tenants of inheritance' (those owing quit-rents), 13 tenants for lives, and 9 tenants for years. (fn. 14) In 1541 the manor of Nether Lypiatt formerly belonging to the Hospitallers had four free tenancies, including one in Painswick owing 1 lb. of cummin, and 9 customary tenancies. (fn. 15) A messuage on the Freames' manor of Nether Lypiatt was leased in 1649 for 99 years or 3 lives owing suit of court and a rent in cash and apples, (fn. 16) and in the 18th century 99-year leases determinable by lives remained the usual form of tenure for the cottages at Thrupp on the Clutterbucks' part of the manor. (fn. 17) No early records of tenancies on Paganhill manor have been found.

A grant, apparently of the 13th century, mentioned two open fields on Over Lypiatt manor called Over field and Nether field. (fn. 18) The former was evidently that called in the 16th and 17th centuries Over Lypiatt Upper field, North field, or Bisley field, and the latter that called Over Lypiatt Lower field, South field, or Cross field. Upper field lay on the parish boundary north-west of the Stroud-Bisley road and was partly in Bisley, and Lower field lay between the same road and Fennell's Farm. (fn. 19) A third open field, called Stroud field, which lay further south between the same road and Proud Grove, was mentioned in 1573. (fn. 20) In 1505 Upper field contained 84 a. shared among 11 tenants; (fn. 21) by 1624 the lord of the manor had 52 a. of the field in hand (fn. 22) and by 1725 it had been inclosed, most of it to form two fields on the manorial demesne. (fn. 23) Lower field was also inclosed before 1725. (fn. 24) Two large arable closes, Lypiatt Lower field containing 105 a. and North (or Upper) field containing 102 a., belonged to the Freames' Nether Lypiatt estate in 1689 and presumably represented former open fields. (fn. 25) Three open fields, Ruscombe Edge, Babbecroft, and Moor field, were recorded in the Paganhill division of the parish in 1350. (fn. 26) Ruscombe Edge was presumably that called Ruscombe Ridge in the 1640s when Moor field and two others, Downfield, south of the Stroud-Paganhill road, and Amon Croft were also mentioned. (fn. 27) Another open field, High field east of Whiteshill village, still contained 12 a. in 1842 when the only other land remaining open in the parish was 6 a. in a field called Paganhill field, lying south-east of Paganhill village and presumably once part of Down field. (fn. 28)

For its size the parish contained few large farms, for much of the pasture land in the valley bottoms was in holdings of one or two closes belonging to the mills, and most of the hill slopes were wooded. The arable, which in 1820 was considerable, lay on the high ground of the parish. (fn. 29) In 1842 the main farms in the eastern division were Nether Lypiatt Manor and Fennell's farm, which each had just over 200 a., Thrupp House, Middle Lypiatt farm, and Kilminster farm, with c. 150 a., and Stroud Slad and Hill House farms with c. 100 a. In the western division Ruscombe farm which had 224 a. and Stokenhill farm which had 75 a. were the largest. (fn. 30) There was a total of 16 farms in the ancient parish in 1856 (fn. 31) which the appropriation of land for housing development had reduced to about half the number by 1971.

Mills and the Cloth Industry.

A tradition, recorded in the early 18th century, states that some of the Flemish weavers brought over by Edward III were settled at Stroud, (fn. 32) but the three tuckers recorded in 1381 provide the earliest evidence of the cloth-making industry in the parish. (fn. 33) Two fullingmills were recorded there c. 1513, (fn. 34) and by the early 17th century, when at least 8 were at work, the industry dominated the economic life of the parish. The cloth-workers recorded in 1608 were 19 clothiers, 76 weavers, 33 fullers, and 3 dyers. (fn. 35) By the beginning of the 18th century Stroud and the surrounding district were famed for the quality of the cloth produced and for the rich hues of the dyes, some of them invented by local men. (fn. 36) The 18th century, in spite of occasional fluctuations in the market, was generally a period of great prosperity for the trade. Families of clothiers such as the Dallaways, Wathens, and Baylises made considerable fortunes, built handsome houses, and played a leading role in the life of the neighbourhood. In the 1770s there were 18 cloth-mills and c. 30 master clothiers in Stroud parish and the annual value of the cloth produced in the parish was estimated at £200,000. (fn. 37)

The earlier 19th century was a period of reorganization in the cloth industry, taking place against a background of more frequent depressions in the trade and poverty and unrest among the workmen. The scale of the industry in Stroud parish remained very considerable: figures prepared for the census of 1821 show that in the eastern and most populous division of the parish a third of all the heads of households were directly engaged in the industry; they included 149 weavers, 32 clothiers, 32 dyers, 36 shearmen, and 86 workers employed in other processes of the manufacture, including scribblers, spinners, spoolers, burlers, pickers, rowers, and scourers. (fn. 38) Most of the weavers then still worked in their cottages: a rating-survey of 1822 designated as 'shops' 27 buildings in Paganhill tithing, 102 in Over Lypiatt, 54 in Nether Lypiatt, and 23 in Steanbridge, (fn. 39) and, although some of them, particularly in Over Lypiatt (which contained most of Stroud town), were occupied by retailers and other sorts of craftsmen, the great majority were evidently weaving-shops. The other processes of the manufacture were becoming increasingly mechanised, however, and many of the mills were rebuilt on a larger scale to house the new machinery; most of the substantial stone buildings which survive date from the first 30 years of the 19th century. That period also saw the introduction of steam-power to supplement water-power, which was found to be inadequate particularly in the summer months. (fn. 40) By the late 1830s the larger mills of the parish such as Brimscombe, Stafford's, Ham, and Vatch had also brought the weaving process into the mill and some had installed power-looms. Many of the smaller mills failed to adapt to the new circumstances and turned to corn-milling, which had been carried on earlier at many of the mills in conjunction with cloth-making; to saw-milling and wood-turning; or to the manufacture of flock and shoddy. Others, such as Bowbridge and Arundell's mills, specialized in dyeing, a process which had formerly been carried on at the cloth-mills or at small independent dyehouses, such as the one that Thomas Pill built near Woosley's brook south of Paganhill c. 1651. (fn. 41) The remaining cloth-mills mostly closed down during the late-19th-century depression in the trade and none of those within the ancient parish remained in use for its original purpose in 1971. Most of the sites of the larger mills, however, still served industrial purposes, and some, comprising a complex of buildings, had become minor trading estates. The individual histories of the 29 mill-sites which have been found recorded in the parish are traced below.

The dependent crafts of the cloth industry were represented in 1608 by a millwright and 2 card makers. (fn. 42) Two millwrights were among the owners of a mill at Bowbridge in the earlier 18th century. Shear-grinders occupied Cuttle's Mill c. 1710 and Weyhouse Mill in the mid 18th century, and in 1784 there was a shear-grinders' mill at Dark Mill. The mill rebuilding and increased mechanisation of the early 19th century provided employment for a number of inhabitants. In 1821 12 millwrights lived in the eastern division of the parish and the 8 engineers also recorded then (fn. 43) were presumably engaged mainly in servicing the steam-engines and other machinery at the mills. The need for engines and machinery also stimulated the establishment of a number of iron-foundries in the 19th century, notably the Phoenix works on the site of a former cloth-mill at Thrupp. In 1856 a weavers' slaymaker was working at Bowbridge. (fn. 44) A man of Toadsmoor described as a packer in 1701 (fn. 45) was presumably engaged in the carriage of cloth or wool. A wool-merchant was living in Stroud in 1820 (fn. 46) and in 1856 a cloth-factor and a firm of woolbrokers were based in the town. (fn. 47) The partnership of John Libby and Hugh Pearce, cloth-factors and woollen warehousemen, was established at Stroud in 1857, (fn. 48) and c. 1871 the firm built the large stone Cloth Hall at the bottom of Kendrick Street. (fn. 49) A wool-merchant, A. J. Clift, had premises at Rowcroft between 1870 and the 1930s, (fn. 50) and at various times in the early 20th century firms of woolmerchants occupied Ham and Newcombe's mills.

There were 14 mills spaced at intervals of 300-400 yards along the Frome where it bounded the eastern portion of the parish. Ten of them were regarded as belonging to Stroud and Port Mill in the complex around the Brimscombe canal basin is also described below, although it was rated to Minchinhampton; the remaining three, Wimberley Mill in Minchinhampton, and Hope and Wallbridge mills which were part of Rodborough, are described under those parishes. All three of the mills on the Frome adjoining the western portion of Stroud, Lodgemore, Fromehall, and Dudbridge mills, were also regarded as in Rodborough and are described under that parish.

The highest mill on the Frome in Stroud parish, Dark Mill, (fn. 51) was included in the property comprising a house called the Bourne, 2 fulling-mills, and 2 grist-mills which Sir Henry Poole of Sapperton leased to John Sewell in 1597. Sir Henry's son Henry sold it in 1622 to Roger Fowler, clothier, who sold it in 1626 to Robert Ducie, alderman of London. Ducie sold it to Thomas Davies, clothier, in 1629, and in 1671, by which time a gig-mill had been added, it belonged to Thomas Davies, grandson of Thomas Davies. In 1701 the younger Thomas settled the mill on his daughter Rebecca and her husband John Stephens (fn. 52) (d. 1704). (fn. 53) Subsequently it was divided between Stephens's two daughters. One moiety passed to Anne who married c. 1719 Thomas Ridler of Edgeworth, passing in 1751 to their daughter Elizabeth and her husband William Prinn. (fn. 54) The other moiety passed to John Stephens's daughter Sarah who married Henry Windowe of Churchdown (d. 1745), and, put up for sale under a Chancery order secured by Henry's creditors, was bought in 1752 by William Prinn (fn. 55) who thus reunited the two moieties. In 1756 Prinn sold the mill to Peter Leversage, then or later owner of the Middle Lypiatt estate, and James Canter, a maltster of Minchinhampton. Leversage bought out Canter in 1761, and in 1784 settled the property, which was then in four occupations and included a fulling-mill, grist-mill, shear-grinder's mill, and dye-house, on the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth and John George. (fn. 56) The shear-grinder's mill, and presumably also the fulling-mill and dye-house, was on the site of Dark Mill, but the grist-mill stood just to the north on the Toadsmoor brook. (fn. 57) Dark Mill remained in the possession of the George family of Cherington (fn. 58) until 1872 when it was bought by William Farrar. (fn. 59) Amos Jones was tenant of the mill for some years until 1823; (fn. 60) in 1842 it was occupied by Richard Jones, (fn. 61) and in 1845 and 1860 by John Webb. At the last date Dark Mill was still described as a cloth-mill, (fn. 62) but later it had a variety of uses, being a gun-felt manufactory in 1870, (fn. 63) a dye-works in 1876, (fn. 64) a saw-mill in 1881, (fn. 65) and in 1885 and for some years afterwards a manufactory of umbrellasticks. (fn. 66) In 1903 it was acquired by Critchley Bros., pin-makers at near-by Wimberley Mill, who used it for the manufacture of wooden knitting-needles and crochet-hooks. (fn. 67) The firm still occupied the site in 1971. New factory buildings were put up in the 1950s and 1960s, and the early-19th-century stone mill was demolished in 1964. (fn. 68)

Bourne Mill, the next downstream, (fn. 69) was called Grime's Mill in 1777 (fn. 70) and may have been the mill below Bourne bridge that John Grime held in 1608. (fn. 71) Thomas Freame, heir to Nether Lypiatt manor, leased a mill at Bourne to William Grime in 1654, and Thomas's daughter Sarah Windowe renewed the lease to William, his wife Joan, and son Jeremy in 1690 when the site comprised a house, 2 fulling-mills, and a rack-place. (fn. 72) Bourne Mill was owned by Richard Mills, a rug-maker (d. by 1783), and was acquired after his death by Richard Harris (fn. 73) (d. 1833). (fn. 74) Harris's trustees sold the mill soon after 1836 to Nathaniel Samuel Marling, (fn. 75) who bought many mills in the Stroud region at that period, some to work himself but others apparently as a speculation. The lessee in the early 1820s was the cloth manufacturer Thomas Hill, (fn. 76) but the mill evidently then also included a corn-mill, being described in 1822 as a mill with 2 wheels, 3 pairs of stones, and a gig. (fn. 77) Marling's lessee in 1842 was the clothier John Webb, (fn. 78) who renewed his lease in 1855. (fn. 79) By the mid 1860s Bourne Mill was occupied by Richard Grist & Co., mattress-wool, mill-puff and shoddy makers, (fn. 80) but they had evidently left it by 1901 when it was a cabinet-works. (fn. 81) H. S. Hack Ltd., makers of umbrella- and walking-sticks, occupied Bourne Mill from 1912 until the 1960s, (fn. 82) and in 1971 the mill, comprising two stone buildings of the early 19th century, (fn. 83) was occupied by small businesses engaged in screen printing, metal polishing, and the manufacture of flexible moulds.

Port Mill, (fn. 84) named from the canal basin built immediately east of it in the 1780s, was apparently the mill at Brimscombe held by Samuel Peach of St. Mary's Mill in 1744. (fn. 85) It later passed to John Peach who sold it to the Thames and Severn Canal Co. in 1786; (fn. 86) in 1804 it was a grist-mill, leased to John Jenkins. (fn. 87) The company sold it, comprising a newly-erected house and a corn-mill, to Mary Lewis of Brimscombe Mill in 1815, and her son William (fn. 88) was leasing it in 1839 to John George, (fn. 89) a prominent barge-owner on the canal. (fn. 90) It was put up for sale with William Lewis's property in 1843. (fn. 91) Later it passed to N. S. Marling who leased it to P. C. Evans until 1855 when it was taken on lease with Bourne Mill by John Webb. (fn. 92) In 1863 James Ferrabee moved to Port Mill from the Phoenix ironworks at Thrupp and in 1870 he was manufacturing cloth there in partnership with a Mr. Fox. (fn. 93) Port Mill was again worked with Brimscombe Mill after 1872 when it was acquired by P. C. Evans & Sons. (fn. 94) From 1949 the mill, comprising buildings of the later 19th century, was occupied by Bensons International Systems Ltd., makers of loose-leaf ledger equipment, who were employing 200 people by 1962. In 1970 Bensons built a large new factory near by on the north side of the former canal basin. (fn. 95)

Brimscombe Mill, the next below, (fn. 96) was apparently represented by the house and mills in Stroud and Bisley with which Thomas Bigge and Ursula his wife were dealing in 1594, (fn. 97) and was evidently the mill below Brimscombe bridge which Richard Fowler occupied in 1608. (fn. 98) In the latter year both Richard and Roger Fowler were recorded as clothiers in Nether Lypiatt, (fn. 99) and by his will dated 1626 Roger Fowler left a house, two fulling-mills, a grain-mill, and a gig-mill there to his father Richard Fowler (d. 1627), described as of Bigge's Place. Richard was succeeded by another son Henry Fowler, rector of Minchinhampton (d. 1643), and Henry's son Henry (fn. 100) sold Bigge's Place and the mill to William Webb, clothier, in 1648. By 1675 William's son, William, had succeeded him, and William Webb of Woodchester sold the mill in 1705 to Brice Seed of Rodborough. Seed sold it in 1733 to the clothier John Dallaway, (fn. 101) who worked it until 1760 when he made it over to his son William; the property then included two houses, fulling-mills with 3 stocks, a gig-mill, a knapping-mill house, racks, and a blue dye-house. (fn. 102) William, who was high sheriff of the county in 1766, was succeeded at his death in 1776 (fn. 103) by his son William, whose debts forced him to sell the property in 1790 to Joseph Lewis; the mill, which included a scarlet dye-house, was then in the tenure of Messrs. Blackwell and Remington. (fn. 104) Joseph Lewis (d. c. 1808) left Brimscombe Mill to his wife Mary to be divided after her death among their four children John, William, George, and Elizabeth; in 1809 Elizabeth sold her quarter share in the reversion but it was later bought back by Mary and her three sons. (fn. 105) The Lewis brothers were known for their improvements in cloth-making machinery, notably the rotary shearing-machine which John patented in 1815, (fn. 106) although credit for the invention was also claimed by Stephen Price, a Stroud engineer. (fn. 107) The three brothers carried on cloth-making and dyeing at Brimscombe Mill until 1827 when George sold out to the other two, who continued in partnership until John's death in 1838. (fn. 108) Steam-engines had been installed at the mill by 1833, (fn. 109) and in 1838 William had a power-loom and 60 handlooms there, although 29 of the handlooms were unemployed. (fn. 110) On William's death in 1843 his creditors secured a court order for the sale of the property to meet their claims; it then included two mills called Upper and Lower Mills. (fn. 111)

By 1845 Brimscombe Mills had been acquired by Samuel Marling who leased them in that year to the White family, clothiers of Monk's Mill, Wotton under Edge. In 1858 he leased them to the firm of P. C. Evans and J. W. Bishop, (fn. 112) later P. C. Evans & Sons, which, becoming by amalgamation in 1920 part of Marling & Evans, continued to manufacture cloth there until the early 1930s. (fn. 113) By 1931 one section of Brimscombe Lower Mill was occupied by a firm making automobile engine parts, and by 1935 another section by J. Cousins, iron-founders. (fn. 114) From 1946 Lower Mill was occupied by Kimberley & Hogg, electro-platers and metal-polishers, and Lewis & Hole, who made castings for the engineering trade, (fn. 115) and in 1971 Kimberley & Hogg shared the site with a firm of welders and a firm of vehicle-body repairers. Upper Mill was occupied by a firm making knitting-needles in 1936; (fn. 116) in 1967 the Perolin Co. Ltd. and a subsidiary moved to the site from Warwick, and in 1971 the two companies, which manufactured a wide range of chemicals for use in industry, employed c. 30 people. (fn. 117) The surviving buildings on the site of the two mills were then mainly brick structures of the 19th century. The buildings demolished included the house called Bigge's Place, which was described as an ancient house in the 1770s and stood east of the site close to Brimscombe bridge. (fn. 118)

A mill at Far Thrupp, known in the early 19th century as Thrupp Mill (fn. 119) but before that usually called Huckvale's (or Huckfield's) Court, may have been in existence by 1381 when John Huckvale (Hokkevale), a tucker, was living in Nether Lypiatt. (fn. 120) Richard Sewell occupied the mill in 1608, (fn. 121) and he or another Richard owned Huckvale's Court at his death in 1635 when it comprised a messuage, two fulling-mills, a gig-mill, and a gristmill, held freely from Nether Lypiatt manor. Richard was succeeded by his son Giles, (fn. 122) and in 1677 the property belonged to another Richard Sewell, whose widow Ursula and her second husband Joseph Gough, clothier, owned it in 1705. (fn. 123) In 1708 Joseph and Ursula and the heirs of her first husband conveyed the mill to Jeremiah Davis and Richard Baker, and by 1752, called Sewell's Mill, it had passed to Jeremiah's son Dennis who was leasing it to Jonathan Wathen, clothier. (fn. 124) By 1770 it had passed to Joseph Wathen (fn. 125) of New House, who was described at his death in 1786 as one of the most considerable clothiers in the county. (fn. 126) Joseph's widow Anne owned the property in 1792 and settled it on the marriage of her son Samuel Wathen. Anne died in 1803 and Samuel in 1818, (fn. 127) and in 1828 Elizabeth, Samuel's widow, leased Thrupp Mill to John Ferrabee, iron-founder, who was empowered to make extensive alterations which included taking down the dwelling-house, removing two of the three water-wheels and their stocks, and building a foundry. (fn. 128) The mill thus became the Phoenix ironworks where John Ferrabee, from 1851 his sons James and Henry, and from 1855 James alone, carried on the production of cloth-making machines, water-wheels, agricultural machinery, and steam-engines. (fn. 129) The works also made the first lawn-mowers: that machine was invented in 1830 by a local mechanic Edwin Budding and its patenting and development financed by John Ferrabee. An adjustable spanner invented by Budding was also produced. After James Ferrabee's removal to Port Mill in 1863 (fn. 130) the foundry business at the Phoenix works was carried on by George Wailes & Co. (fn. 131) From 1872 Burton, Sons, & Waller, later George Waller & Son, a firm of mechanical engineers, occupied the foundry using it to make castings for their main factory in London, and in 1887 the firm moved the whole of its plant to the Phoenix works. (fn. 132) Waller & Son, by then part of a larger combine, still occupied the works in 1971 when they were chiefly engaged in the production of compressed-air pumps for gas-works, sewage-works, and other undertakings; the works then employed c. 180 people. A water-wheel remained in use until the early 1920s, powering part of a machine-shop, and in 1971 the original foundry building of 1828 survived, although reroofed, among more extensive modern buildings. (fn. 133)

Ham Mill, the next downstream, (fn. 134) was occupied in 1608 by Robert Tayloe, (fn. 135) and in 1634 Robert Tayloe, clothier, and his son Thomas sold it to Samuel Webb. (fn. 136) Samuel received grants of protection against the plundering of his goods from Prince Maurice in 1642 and Prince Rupert in 1643. (fn. 137) He was succeeded by his grandson Samuel who owned the mill in 1685; it then had two fullingstocks, a gig-mill, a grist-mill, dye-house, presshouse, and 5 racks, and the property also included a mansion called Doleman's Ham and a considerable estate. (fn. 138) Samuel was succeeded, apparently before 1723, (fn. 139) by his son Robert (d. 1735). Robert's widow Anne was entitled to dower in part of the property while the remainder passed to his aunt Susannah, who, however, granted her estate to Anne for life. On Susannah's death in 1737 her reversionary right passed to the daughters of William Webb, Mary who married Samuel Aldridge and Jane who married Ralph Lampthorn, (fn. 140) but in 1743 Samuel, Ralph, and Jane joined with Anne Webb in a release of Ham Mill to James Winchcombe, mercer, reserving to Anne an annuity and the right to occupy the house for life. (fn. 141) Winchcombe was making cloth at the mill in 1764. (fn. 142) By 1803 John Knowles and a partner were working it, (fn. 143) and it was put up for sale in 1812 following Knowles's death. (fn. 144) It was apparently bought by Sir Paul Baghott of Lypiatt Park, (fn. 145) and in 1822 it was owned by Obadiah Wathen and occupied by Joseph Wathen. (fn. 146)

Shortly afterwards Ham Mill was acquired by William Marling, founder of one of the most successful clothier families of the Stroud region. William took his son Thomas into partnership at Ham Mill in 1825, and in 1832 another son, Samuel Stephens Marling, joined the firm. (fn. 147) In 1833 the mill was powered by a steam-engine in addition to 3 water-wheels, (fn. 148) and in 1838, when Thomas and Samuel were carrying on the business, it contained 45 power-looms and 29 handlooms. (fn. 149) By 1842 Ham Mill belonged to Nathaniel Samuel Marling, another of William's sons, but it was occupied by William Stanton of Stafford's Mill. (fn. 150) It possibly became a saw-mill after 1846 when Marling leased it to Thomas Barrett of Painswick, turner, (fn. 151) but from 1852 the lessee was Thomas Sampson, a woollen shawl manufacturer, whose business was hit by a change in fashion in the late 1850s and complicated by the financial difficulties of his partner, William Barnard of Lodgemore Mill. (fn. 152) Alfred Ritchie & Co. were making cloth at Ham Mill by 1863; they worked it until 1900 when they sold it to Thomas Bond Worth & Sons, carpet weavers, (fn. 153) who had 300 looms there and employed c. 700 hands in 1907. (fn. 154) Apart from a few years after 1941 when the mill was put to wartime uses, Bond Worth carried on carpet-weaving at Ham Mill until 1954, and from c. 1920 a factory north of Bowbridge, formerly the Eagle brewery, was used for spinning the yarn for the mill. In 1954 the Bowbridge factory was given up and from that date Ham Mill was used only for spinning for the firm's parent works in Stourport. (fn. 155) From 1906 until the Second World War a part of Ham Mill was occupied by firms of cloth-merchants. (fn. 156) The buildings on the site, which in 1833 comprised the original mill building and three new blocks put up in 1814, 1825, and 1832 respectively, (fn. 157) were severely damaged by fires in 1841 and 1866. (fn. 158) In 1971 some substantial early19th-century stone-built blocks survived together with later brick buildings.

Griffin's Mill, below, (fn. 159) was owned by a family of the name for over 180 years. John Griffin bought the mill from Richard Fowler in 1599, and at John's death in 1627 the property included a messuage, grain-mill, fulling-mill, and gig-mill. It passed to his son Thomas (fn. 160) (d. 1638), and to Thomas's son John (fn. 161) w John in 1655. John Griffin owned the mill in 1708 and died c. 1719, and in 1720 his son John sold it, subject to an annuity, to his brother Thomas, described as a packer of London. By 1724 Thomas had been succeeded by his son William, who was living in London as a factor in 1728 and in 1740 sold Griffin's Mill to his brother Thomas (fn. 162) (d. 1788). (fn. 163) In 1790 Thomas's devisee sold the mill to William Clissold of Ruscombe and Thomas Wilson of Painswick, and Clissold, having acquired Wilson's right, sold the equity of redemption to the mortgagee William Hamilton in 1793. (fn. 164) By 1813 Thomas Howell owned Griffin's Mill, (fn. 165) and he was making cloth there in 1820, (fn. 166) but by 1838 the mill was being used as a saw-mill, (fn. 167) which purpose it served in 1846 when occupied by Messrs. Barnard. (fn. 168) In 1856 part was being used as a saw-mill by William Barnard, and part by Henry and Richard Hooper, whose family carried on the manufacture of umbrellasticks there until at least 1935. (fn. 169) From 1912 another part of Griffin's Mill was occupied by Tyler's Ltd., cabinet-makers, who remained there until 1956 or ler. (fn. 170) In 1971 the site, comprising three substantial 19th-century brick-built blocks, was occupied by nine small firms including engineers, electricians, paint-manufacturers, and suppliers of motor accessories.

Stafford's Mill (fn. 171) was presumably that occupied by Edmund Webb in 1608, identified as the next below John Griffin's mill. (fn. 172) It belonged to the later John Griffin in 1708, having at some time been occupied by Richard Stafford. It descended with Griffin's Mill until 1793 (fn. 173) when William Hamilton sold it to William Stanton, clothier, the property then including a house, a fulling-mill with two stocks, and a gig-mill. (fn. 174) William and his sons, William Henry and Charles, were working the mill in 1833 when steam-engines had been introduced, (fn. 175) and in 1836 they installed 28 power-looms; in 1838 the mill also contained 88 handlooms, although not all the looms were then working. (fn. 176) William died in 1841, devising the mill to William Henry, who was M.P. for Stroud 1841-52 and died in 1870, Charles (d. 1863), and a third son John (d. 1847). In 1872 Alfred Stanton, second son of William Henry, was working the mill in partnership with his cousin Walter Stanton. The partnership between Alfred and Walter, who were both also M.P.s for Stroud, was dissolved in 1880, and Alfred alone (fn. 177) carried on the business until c. 1886. (fn. 178) By 1889 Stafford's Mill was occupied by S. G. Bailey & Co., paint and chemical manufacturers, who remained there until the 1960s when they moved to Griffin's Mill. (fn. 179) In 1971 several businesses, including engineers and distributors of motor tyres and gas supplies, occupied the site, on which a number of stone mill buildings, apparently erected between 1825 and 1831, (fn. 180) still survived.

Bowbridge Mill, near the confluence of the Frome and the Lime brook, (fn. 181) was later identified with the fulling-mill held from Over Lypiatt manor by William Workman c. 1513. (fn. 182) In 1606 the lord of the manor conveyed a property which included a watermill and 4 fulling-mills to Henry Fletcher, who held Bowbridge Mill as a free tenement of the manor in 1612; (fn. 183) in 1608, however, it was occupied by Nathaniel Workman and Richard Fletcher. (fn. 184) It was evidently worked by William Fletcher, recorded as a clothier at Bowbridge in 1655, (fn. 185) and in 1679 it was settled on the marriage of Thomas Weary to Mary, daughter of Walter Fletcher, late a merchant of London. Weary sold it in the following year to William Essington, clothier (fn. 186) (d. 1719), (fn. 187) and in 1724, known as Fletcher's or Bowbridge Mill, it belonged to William's son William (d. c. 1727). The younger William was succeeded by his nephew Richard Essington who retained Bowbridge Mill in 1735 when it included a house, a corn-mill converted into a cottage, and a fulling-mill, apparently in the occupation of a tenant John Gainey. (fn. 188) By 1779 the mill belonged to the Partridge family (fn. 189) who worked it mainly as a dye-works for over 100 years. In 1802 John Partridge sold the property, which then included three fulling-mills (one recently erected) and dyeing-vats, to his sons Thomas and Nathaniel, both dyers, and in 1806 Nathaniel sold his moiety to Thomas. (fn. 190) In 1823 Nathaniel, described as a scarlet-dyer, and his brothers Joseph and John, blue-dyers, made an agreement for sharing the power in the mill. (fn. 191) In 1833, when John was making broad superfine cloth, kerseymeres, and Spanish stripes, and also carrying on an extensive dyeing business, he estimated that he gave employment to 500 people; steam-power was by then in use to drive some of the fulling-stocks. (fn. 192) In 1842 part of the site was owned and occupied by Joseph Partridge, and Nathaniel Partridge had dye-houses near by, (fn. 193) and Partridge & Co. were still dyers at Bowbridge in 1889. By 1894 and until at least 1927 the dye-works there were operated by Strachan & Co. in conjunction with their cloth-factories at Lodgemore and Fromehall mills. Another part of the site was probably occupied by W. C. Chambers of Thrupp House who was recorded as a dyer at Bowbridge between 1870 and 1927. (fn. 194) In 1833 there were four mill buildings on the site, an old mill altered in 1824, and three others, built c. 1780, c. 1795, and in 1802 respectively. (fn. 195) In 1971 a pair of two-storey stone-built blocks, used for storage by a building contractor, survived on the south side of the lane leading from the London road into Rodborough.

Arundell's Mill (fn. 196) was evidently that comprising two fulling-mills and a corn-mill in Stroud and Over Lypiatt which John Huckvale granted c. 1585 to Richard Arundell. (fn. 197) It had possibly been in existence by 1381 when William Huckvale (Hokkevale) was a tucker in Over Lypiatt tithing. (fn. 198) Richard Arundell died c. 1601 leaving his freehold land to his eldest son Richard, (fn. 199) and in 1653 his grandson John Arundell made a 200-year lease of a house called Huckvale's Place with two fulling-mills, a gig-mill, a corn-mill, and a dye-house to William Booth; the property was presumably a free tenancy of Over Lypiatt, for the lease was recorded among the evidences of that manor. (fn. 200) It may have been part of the estate in Over Lypiatt in which Thomas Arundell had succeeded John Arundell the elder and younger by 1724. (fn. 201) In 1749, with the house called the Field and over 100 a. land, Arundell's Mill was settled on the marriage of Freame Arundell (d. 1785), and it passed in turn to his sons Thomas (d. 1788) and James (d. 1813). James's heirs were Elizabeth Gregory and her daughter Elizabeth who married the Revd. John Hawkins in 1815. (fn. 202) The elder Elizabeth devised her moiety of the estate to Hawkins on her death in 1860, and he sold the mill in 1868 to Edwin Gyde, (fn. 203) who sold it shortly afterwards to John Woolwright. (fn. 204) The lessee of Arundell's Mill in 1820 was John Gordon, (fn. 205) and in 1838 R. P. Smith & Co., who were using four power-looms installed the previous year. (fn. 206) In 1842 the mill was occupied by Christopher Smith and Charles Gyde, (fn. 207) and in 1856 by Charles Gyde & Son, dyers; (fn. 208) dyeing continued there in the name of Gyde & Co., and later Gyde, Bishop, & Co., until the early 1930s. (fn. 209) The main mill buildings had all been demolished by 1971 and the site was a coalyard but the pond and sluice remained and some stone buildings west of the main site, one in part 17thcentury. (fn. 210)

Capel's Mill, below, (fn. 211) was also owned at one time by the Arundells, but it took its name from a family which held it later for over 150 years. It was recorded c. 1513 as the fulling-mill which a man called Orpin held from Over Lypiatt manor, (fn. 212) and Thomas Orpin of Stroud, tucker, who was recorded in 1535, may have worked it. (fn. 213) In 1558 John Orpin held a house and fulling-mill from Over Lypiatt manor by a copy of 1489, (fn. 214) but by 1581 Richard Arundell was the tenant (fn. 215) and it was presumably Richard's 'lower mill' which his second son John was to occupy after his death c. 1601. (fn. 216) In 1608 the lord of Over Lypiatt sold the mill, then known as Orpin's Mill, to Richard's eldest son Richard, (fn. 217) and in 1654 John Arundell sold it to Richard Viner. (fn. 218) Robert Viner, recorded as a clothier in 1662, may have worked it. (fn. 219) Before 1720 the Viners sold the mill to Samuel Capel, and Samuel's son, who had succeeded him by 1723, was probably the William Capel, clothier, mentioned in 1728. (fn. 220) The same or another William was apparently working the mill in 1774. (fn. 221) John Capel (d. 1828) was making cloth there in 1820, and his son Arthur (fn. 222) remained owner of it c. 1870. (fn. 223) The Capels ceased to work it before 1838 when Daniel Bowerbank was the tenant, (fn. 224) and in 1856 it was occupied by Mrs. Elizabeth Grist, Sons, & Co., prepared wool, mattress, and mill-puff manufacturers; Grist & Co. later carried on the same business at Gussage and Lewiston mills, (fn. 225) but had evidently left Capel's Mill by 1882 when it was a dye-works. (fn. 226) By 1971 the site had been cleared. The Capels lived in a substantial classical-style house built east of the site in the mid 18th century. It was of brick with stone dressings (fn. 227) and its name, the Brick House, reflected the rarity of the former building material in the area at that period. It was demolished in 1964. (fn. 228)

On the Ruscombe or Ozel brook in the west part of Paganhill tithing there were at least five mills, the lowest of which, situated south of the Cainscross- Stroud road, was mentioned in an earlier volume under Stonehouse. (fn. 229) Ruscombe Mill, the highest, was probably in existence by 1439 when Richard atte Mill held lands, which later formed part of the Ruscombe Farm estate, by gift of Thomas Guysshe. (fn. 230) In 1532 William Pawne leased Ruscombe Mill with Ruscombe Farm to Richard Gardner, and it was included in the sale of the estate in 1574. (fn. 231) In 1648 Giles Gardner, owner of Ruscombe Farm, leased the mill to Daniel Gardner, clothier, and the lease was renewed to Daniel's son Giles, also a clothier, in 1677. The mill was later occupied by another Daniel Gardner, clothier, who was declared bankrupt in 1728. In spite of the trade of the lessees the mill remained a corn-mill in 1677 and probably in 1728, for one of Daniel Gardner's debts was owed to a Painswick clothier for the use of his fulling-mill. (fn. 232) Ruscombe Mill has not been found recorded later, and if, as seems most likely, it stood at the pond east of Ruscombe Farm, it had been demolished by 1819. (fn. 233)

Puckshole Mill, at the point where the Randwick- Paganhill road crosses the Ruscombe brook, (fn. 234) was owned and occupied by Thomas Ellery in 1822 when it contained one stock, one gig, and other machinery. (fn. 235) Before 1870 it belonged to Richard Barton, (fn. 236) and the firm of Harman & Adey were making cloth there in 1871 when they went bankrupt. (fn. 237) In the late 19th century, known as Vale Mill, it was worked as a corn-mill. It had ceased working by 1936, by which date the mill building, which adjoined the south-west corner of the surviving house, had been demolished. (fn. 238) The house is a mid-18th-century building of stone with a brick front. A long row of 17th- or early-18th-century stone cottages on the west side of the old mill-pond may have once housed employees.

Paganhill Mill, below, (fn. 239) was presumably the newly-erected mill at Paganhill offered on lease in 1815. (fn. 240) In 1822 Paganhill Mill, which had two pairs of stones, belonged to John Phelps of Field Place and was let to Thomas Steel; (fn. 241) in 1842 the tenant was Stephen Clissold. (fn. 242) In 1882, when it was known as Steel's Mill, and in 1901, known as Little Mill, it remained a corn-mill, (fn. 243) and it was worked by members of the King family between 1897 and 1906. (fn. 244) In the early 20th century, before 1936, the mill building, which adjoined the west side of the surviving house, was demolished and the house became the farm-house of Little Mill farm. (fn. 245) Farming ceased in the early 1960s when much of the land was sold for building. The house, which is said to have been built c. 1865, (fn. 246) is of stone with Tudorstyle windows. A stone cottage of the 17th century stands on the east side of the site.

Ozelbrook Mill, just to the west of the Cainscross- Paganhill road, has not been found recorded before 1819 when it was described as Mr. Clutterbuck's mill (fn. 247) and was presumably occupied by William Clutterbuck of 'Wooslow's Brook', shear-grinder, who was mentioned in 1817 and 1844. (fn. 248) No later record of the mill has been found and by 1882 it had apparently been incorporated in the brewery established near by. (fn. 249)

There were four mills on the Painswick stream where it formed the eastern boundary of Paganhill tithing, but the three highest, Rock, Grove, and Salmon's mills, were all in Painswick parish under which they are treated. Stratford Mill, the lowest on the stream, (fn. 250) was part of Edward Stratford's estate at his death in 1607 and was then a fullingmill in the tenure of Thomas Merret. (fn. 251) In 1627 Edward's grandson John Stratford leased the mill to Giles Davis of Stroud, mercer; the property then included a messuage, grist-mill, tuck-mill, and 4 racks for broadcloth. (fn. 252) It was presumably the fulling-mill which belonged to the owner of the Stratford estate, Giles Gardner, clothier, in 1688. (fn. 253) In 1735 Stratford Mill was occupied by William Little, a baker. (fn. 254) In 1838, and apparently by 1820, it was owned by John Biddell (fn. 255) (d. 1863). (fn. 256) In 1872 it was an extensive flour-mill powered by steam and water and working 21 pairs of stones. (fn. 257) It was later worked by the firm of Butt & Skurray, and then by Kemble & Dash (fn. 258) who sold it in 1901 to R. Townsend & Son, corn, cake, seed, and manure merchants. Townsends, who were absorbed by Ranks, Hovis, McDougall Ltd. in 1962, employed c. 90 people at Stratford Mill in 1971, when they specialized in the production of seed-corn. (fn. 259)

On the Slad brook, where it formed the western boundary of the main portion of Stroud parish, nine mills have been found recorded, of which four (one at the confluence with the Elcombe brook, and Hazel, Wade's, and Peghouse mills) are treated above as part of Painswick parish. The highest mill in Stroud, Upper Vatch Mill, (fn. 260) was named as a paper-mill in 1824 (fn. 261) and had presumably been occupied by Francis Chapman, paper-maker of 'Vatch Mill', who was mentioned in 1776, (fn. 262) and by William Ward, described as late a paper-maker at Vatch Mills in 1794. (fn. 263) It is likely, however, that Upper Vatch Mill was used as a cloth-mill from before 1824 and that it can be identified with the mill with fulling-stocks at Vatch owned and occupied by Edward Mason in 1822. (fn. 264) Upper Vatch Mill was rebuilt in 1830, and in 1833, when the ground floor was used for fulling by water-power and the upper floors housed weaving-shops, it was owned and worked with Vatch and Peghouse Mills by N. S. Marling. (fn. 265) The mill was disused by 1882, and the building had been demolished by 1901. (fn. 266) In 1971, apart from the remains of pond and race, the site contained a pair of derelict 17th-century cottages and a later cottage, also derelict.

Vatch Mill, a short way downstream at the confluence of the Slad brook and a small tributary, (fn. 267) was apparently the mill at Vatch which the Clissold family held for many years. The name Veyseies Mill later applied to the Clissolds' mill suggests that it was the one on Over Lypiatt manor where Walter le Veysin was crushed to death c. 1287 while greasing the wheel; (fn. 268) a Veisyns Mill was recorded in 1351. (fn. 269) The Clissolds' mill was later identified with that on Over Lypiatt manor in which the Zelam family were tenants in 1516. (fn. 270) In 1592 the lord of the manor sold a grist-mill at Vatch called Veyseies Mill to Thomas Clissold, (fn. 271) who held it in 1612. (fn. 272) In 1656 it belonged to Mrs. Clissold, a widow, (fn. 273) and Thomas Clissold of Vatch Mill died in 1697. (fn. 274) In 1724 another Thomas Clissold held the mill, described as Fetch or Veyseies Mill. (fn. 275) A dwelling-house and fulling-mill called Vatch Mill were advertized for letting in 1768. (fn. 276) By 1811 Vatch Mill was occupied by Henry Wyatt, who remained there in 1822. (fn. 277) It was rebuilt after a fire in 1827, and in 1833, powered by 3 steam-engines and 2 water-wheels, it was the chief factory of N. S. Marling's group of mills on the Slad brook. (fn. 278) In 1838 Marling installed 6 powerlooms at Vatch where he also had 55 handlooms. (fn. 279) By 1842 Vatch Mill was owned by William Fluck, (fn. 280) and, although in the same year he planned to remove two steam-engines from the mill because they were no longer used, (fn. 281) he was still making cloth there in 1856. In 1863 and 1870 Robert Hastings was making cloth at Vatch Mill (fn. 282) and his firm put it up for sale in 1877. (fn. 283) By 1901 the mill buildings had been demolished, leaving only a row of workmen's cottages and the Gothic-style Vatch House. (fn. 284)

By 1820 a small mill, named as Slad Mill in 1824, had been built on the tributary which meets the Slad brook at Vatch Mill. It stood just above Slad Lane, (fn. 285) and may at one time have been worked in conjunction with Vatch Mill, for it was owned by N. S. Marling in 1842. (fn. 286) Both the building and millpond had gone by 1882. (fn. 287)

New Mill, further down the Slad brook near the town, (fn. 288) was apparently a fulling-mill by 1685. (fn. 289) It was occupied by Thomas Baylis at his death in 1754, (fn. 290) and a large new house, the north end of which included a mill, was built on the site by another Thomas Baylis in 1766; it formed a rough E-shape on plan with a long main block, flanking wings, and a central porch, and had decorative classical details. (fn. 291) On Thomas's death in 1799 New Mill passed to his son Daniel, who went bankrupt in 1812. (fn. 292) By 1820 part of the mill was owned and occupied by Robert and William Helme and another part by John Partridge whose tenant was Daniel Papps, (fn. 293) and in 1833, by which time steam-power had been introduced, William Helme was making kerseymeres, buffs, whites, scarlets, and blacks there. (fn. 294) Helme still owned and occupied the whole or part of the mill in 1842. (fn. 295) In 1863 Charles Howard was a cloth-manufacturer there, (fn. 296) and from 1864 the mill was worked by John Libby, who had bought it in 1862 and was already established in Stroud as partner in a firm of cloth-factors. (fn. 297) Libby died in 1894, and in 1897 his trustees agreed to sell the mill to Marcus Cartwright, (fn. 298) but cloth-making continued at New Mill under the style of Libby, Edmonds, & Co. until at least 1902. (fn. 299) From 1912 until the late 1920s it was occupied by the Gloucester Model Laundry Ltd. (fn. 300) From 1949 it was occupied by Balbik Systems Ltd., specialist printers; the firm was acquired in 1970 by Burroughs Machines Ltd., which employed c. 120 people at New Mill in 1971 in printing stationery used in computers and accounting machines. (fn. 301) Part of the south-eastern wing of Thomas Baylis's building was demolished before 1936 (fn. 302) but the remainder survived in 1971 surrounded by modern buildings.

Little Mill, situated in Lansdown, (fn. 303) was a fullingmill in 1755 when the property, described as the mills behind the church, was owned by Thomas Rodway, clothier, who had bought it from Thomas Sheppard. Rodway sold the mill in 1756 to Thomas Baylis of New Mill. On Baylis's death in 1799 his trustees sold it to Benjamin Cooke (d. c. 1801). Cooke's property was divided among his seven children, of whom Elizabeth married the Revd. John Williams, who between 1813 and 1822 bought up the shares of the other six children. In 1839, however, Williams sold the mill back to two of Benjamin's daughters, Esther and Mary Cooke, who were the owners in 1850. (fn. 304) Part of the mill, which was called Little Mill by 1813, was converted to a grist-mill before 1799, (fn. 305) but in 1820 Samuel Weddall was making cloth there (fn. 306) and it was described as a fulling-mill in 1850. (fn. 307) In 1856, however, it was being used as a saw-mill by William Ridler & Son (fn. 308) and by 1863 it was a corn-mill occupied by James Ockford, (fn. 309) whose family worked it until the 1890s. (fn. 310) In 1904 Little Mill was a cabinet-works. (fn. 311) The mill building had been demolished by 1971 and only a small stone cottage remained at the site.

Badbrook Mill on the Slad brook in Merrywalks (fn. 312) was in existence by 1651 when it was described as newly erected. With a house called Badbrook House it then belonged to Robert Hawker, a dyer, who devised it at his death c. 1653 to his wife Judith. By 1666 it had passed to Richard Hawker, apparently Robert's son, and by 1673, when it comprised two fulling-mills and a gig-mill, to Richard's son William who sold it in 1678 to Robert Hawker of Rodborough, dyer. Robert's widow Deborah settled it in 1704 on the marriage of her son Robert, who sold it in 1730 to William Cole of Wallbridge. In 1733 the property included a newly-erected dwelling-house and adjoining it a fulling-mill, a corn-mill, and a dyehouse; by then it was known as Little Mill (fn. 313) and it was presumably the mill of that name where the clothiers and workmen instituted fines for swearing in 1753. (fn. 314) William Cole leased the mill to Thomas Colborne in 1736, (fn. 315) and in 1739 sold it to John Fowler, a mercer of Minchinhampton; in 1763 Fowler's mother Rebecca and his brother Richard sold the mill to Samuel Butt, blue-dyer. (fn. 316) It was later acquired by Thomas Holbrow, a dyer, who also worked some dye-houses upstream from the mill by the Stroud-Painswick road, formerly occupied by a Mr. Windowe. In 1810 Thomas Holbrow made Badbrook Mill and a newly-erected house adjoining over to his son John, (fn. 317) but Thomas apparently was again the owner and occupier in 1820. (fn. 318) It was worked as a cloth-mill by the firm of Papps & Sitlington until their bankruptcy in 1837. (fn. 319) In 1856 it was being worked as a corn-mill by Daniel Wood (fn. 320) and Butt & Skurray were the tenants in 1863. (fn. 321) It was described as disused in 1882, (fn. 322) but it was probably the flour-mill at Badbrook which was worked by steam- and water-power in the following years. (fn. 323) It was disused in 1936, (fn. 324) and the mill and adjoining house were demolished in 1960. (fn. 325)

The lowest mill on the Slad brook was Cuttle's Mill at Wallbridge on a site bounded on the southeast by the main road out of Stroud and on the north, after the 1780s, by the Thames and Severn canal. (fn. 326) A house called Cuttle's, evidently at the site, was recorded as a free tenancy of Over Lypiatt manor from 1527. (fn. 327) The mill had been built by 1709 when Thomas Smith sold it to John Cole, (fn. 328) a sheargrinder. On John's death c. 1718 administration of his goods was granted to his daughter Elizabeth, (fn. 329) but his son Richard was said to have succeeded him in Cuttle's Mill by 1724, (fn. 330) and in 1733 the house adjoining belonged to another son William. At the latter date the mill was apparently being used as dyehouses. (fn. 331) By 1779 Cuttle's Mill had passed to Peter Watts, a dyer, by his marriage to Diana Cole, (fn. 332) and his sons Richard and Edward Watts were dyers at Wallbridge in 1820. (fn. 333) In 1850 the mill, by then a grist-mill, was acquired by John Biddell (fn. 334) and c. 1870 it belonged to Sidney Biddell. It has not been found recorded later and may have ceased working after a serious fire in 1872. (fn. 335) The house, which was demolished in 1970, was a traditional Cotswold-style building to which John Cole added a new road front in classical style in 1714. (fn. 336) An ornamental garden with a summer-house laid out by Cole north of the house was later encroached upon and destroyed piecemeal by the canal, road improvements, and buildings of the Stroud brewery. (fn. 337)

Three mills have been found recorded on the Lime brook which flows into the Frome at Bowbridge. A small mill, known as Weyhouse Mill, was included in the Clutterbuck's portion of Nether Lypiatt manor in 1689; it was then a grist-mill in the tenure of Thomas Pearce. (fn. 338) In 1734 James Clutterbuck leased it to Stephen Power, a shear-grinder, and the lease was renewed to his son Stephen, who followed the same trade, in 1756. (fn. 339) By 1842 the mill and a cottage adjoining had been demolished, (fn. 340) and in 1971 there was nothing to identify the site beyond a broadening of the stream for the former mill-pond.

Further down the stream a small corn-mill was built on a close called Hanging Hill (fn. 341) by a clothier Richard Fletcher, who lived at the Gunhouse near by. He sold it in 1728 to Richard Plummer, later of Burleigh, who at his death in 1769 devised it to his daughter Frances (d. 1785) with remainders to two married daughters, Ann James and Elizabeth Niblett. Richard Plummer Niblett was in possession by 1794. (fn. 342) By 1815 the mill had been demolished. (fn. 343)

Just below, on a site later bounded on the west by the new London turnpike, was a mill that came to be called Newcombe's Mill after an early-19thcentury owner. (fn. 344) The site, called Manfield's Leaze, was bought by Thomas Gardner, a millwright, in 1690, (fn. 345) and he was building a mill there in 1692. (fn. 346) In 1727 Thomas settled the mill, which was then a grist-mill, on the marriage of his son Stephen, a baker, who conveyed it, subject to a mortgage, to another Stephen Gardner, a millwright, before 1748. By 1773 the mill had been converted to a leather-mill and was owned by Edward English, a glover. Later it was acquired by a clothier, Thomas Newcombe, who rebuilt it shortly before 1804 (fn. 347) and was manufacturing cloth there in 1820. (fn. 348) The mill was owned by Richard Sandys in 1842, (fn. 349) and c. 1870 it belonged to J. Y. Sandys. (fn. 350) Thomas Smith was making cloth there in 1889, (fn. 351) but in 1901 it was an ironworks. (fn. 352) Apperly, Bidlake, & Co., recorded as cloth-merchants at Bowbridge between 1914 and 1931, occupied Newcombe's Mill, (fn. 353) and in 1936 it was used as an upholstery works by Tyler's Ltd. of Griffin's Mill. It was burnt down during the Second World War (fn. 354) and the site had been cleared by 1971.

There were several small mills on the Toadsmoor brook on the eastern boundary of the parish. Those known as Toadsmoor Mills are treated above under Bisley. Gussage Mill, further down the brook at Lower Bourne, (fn. 355) was presumably the 'Gusshis Mill' which Roger Fowler left to his wife Joan in 1540, to pass on her death or remarriage to his son Thomas, who occupied it in 1559 when he was described as a clothier or tucker. (fn. 356) In 1653 Thomas Freame, lord of Nether Lypiatt manor, leased a messuage, tuck mill, and grist-mill called the Gushies, formerly occupied by Thomas Fowler, to the clothier Walter Sewell, (fn. 357) and a mill called Lower Gussage Mill was assigned to the Windowes at the partition of the manor in 1689. (fn. 358) In 1813 Gussage Mill was owned or occupied by W. Winn, (fn. 359) and in 1842 it was owned by James Taylor and occupied by William Anthill. (fn. 360) William Dangerfield later had a woodturnery there but by 1856 it was occupied by a silkthrowing business in which he was a partner. (fn. 361) By 1870 it housed Richard Grist & Co., mattress-wool, mill-puff, and shoddy manufacturers, who were replaced in the 1930s (fn. 362) by a firm of wood-turners. (fn. 363) The small early-19th-century stone mill remained a turnery in 1971.

A new brick mill called Lewiston Mill, further down the brook just north of the London road, (fn. 364) was built by Grist & Co. in 1856 and extended in 1864. The firm, which after the death of Richard Grist c. 1892 was carried on by the brothers Lawrence and Richard Lewis Grist, (fn. 365) continued in business at Lewiston Mill until 1939 or later. (fn. 366) From 1969 a subsidiary of Bensons International, carrying out a plastic-coating process, occupied the mill. (fn. 367)

The lowest mill on the Toadsmoor brook, south of the London road, was called Bourne Mill (fn. 368) like the mill on the Frome further west. In 1784 it was a grist-mill and formed part of Peter Leversage's Dark Mill estate, (fn. 369) but in 1813 it was occupied by T. Howell, (fn. 370) presumably Thomas Howell, the cloth manufacturer at Griffin's Mill. By 1870 it was a sawmill worked by John Essex, who had the building firm of Wall & Hook as his under-tenants in 1872, in which year the George family sold the mill to Richard Grist, the flock-maker. From 1877 until c. 1930 it was worked as a saw-mill by the Philpotts family. (fn. 371) From 1940 the site was occupied by the Olympic Varnish Co. which moved there from Enfield (Mdx.) under an industry dispersal scheme; the firm rebuilt and extended their premises in 1948, and in 1971 employed c. 30 people in coating and water-proofing fibreboard for use in the car, travelgoods, and electricity industries. (fn. 372)

Other Industry and Trade.

Most of the other industries which have been carried on in Stroud parish were established in former cloth-mills and are mentioned above under the individual mill-sites. Among them the most important were woodworking, including the manufacture of umbrellasticks, wooden knitting-needles, and furniture, carried on at Dark, Bourne, and Griffin's mills, carpet-weaving established at Ham Mill, and ironfounding and engineering carried on at the Phoenix works and Brimscombe Mill. Another foundry was established by Ralph Lugg in 1886 in a building, formerly a salt-warehouse, on the island in the canal basin at Brimscombe Port, and he was still running the business in 1934. (fn. 373) In that year, however, it was acquired by H. Hewins Ltd., which bought parts of the canal basin for the extension of the works in the 1950s, and in 1971, as a subsidiary of a larger company, employed c. 90 people in the production of a variety of castings. (fn. 374) Two other firms which were in production for a number of years in the early 20th century were the Excelsior Engineering Co., which was established at Bowbridge c. 1901 and in 1904 employed 50 people in making steam-engines and industrial machinery, (fn. 375) and F. Avens & Co., which moved to Thrupp from Cheltenham c. 1905 and made oil-engines used in agricultural work and for electric lighting. (fn. 376) Belting to drive the machinery in the mills and factories was made by Sampson & Co. between c. 1870 and c. 1912 at a factory on the north side of Lower Street. (fn. 377) Engineering works remained one of the chief employers of labour in the parish in 1971, but by then there was also a variety of industries carried on by small firms in the old mill-sites, including the manufacture of paints and industrial chemicals, the distribution of motor accessories, and specialized processes such as electroplating, plastic-coating, and fibre-board varnishing.

Only two of the industries which have been important in the economic life of the parish, brewing and the manufacture of clothing, were not sited in former cloth-mills, although the latter was presumably established in connection with the local cloth-production.

The Stroud brewery is said to have been founded in 1760 by Peter Leversage in a malt-house adjoining his house at Middle Lypiatt. (fn. 378) Leversage later took into partnership Joseph Grazebrook and Henry Burgh and in 1793 they acquired new premises for the business at the bottom of Rowcroft. Burgh sold out to the other two partners in 1797 and in 1806 Grazebrook's interest was acquired by Joseph Watts. Watts carried on the business alone after 1818, buying out the Leversage family's interest in 1826. On his death in 1855 the business passed to his grandson J. W. Hallewell (fn. 379) who carried it on with partners (fn. 380) until 1888 when it became a limited company. A wine and spirit business was started in 1879, (fn. 381) and in 1897 the brewery began a period of expansion with the acquisition of Playne's brewery at Minchinhampton; during the early 20th century it acquired breweries at Tetbury, Malmesbury, and Marlborough, and in 1928 took over its nearest rival Godsell's brewery at Salmon's Spring in Painswick. (fn. 382) In 1957 the Stroud brewery was amalgamated with the Cheltenham and Hereford breweries to form West Country Breweries, a subsidiary of Whitbread Ltd. (fn. 383) Brewing ceased at Stroud in 1967 and a bottling plant there closed down in the following year, (fn. 384) and the buildings, including the Cotswoldstyle company offices built in 1898, (fn. 385) stood empty in 1971. A number of other breweries, much smaller concerns, were also in production in the 19th century, some of them presumably developments of some of the 8 malt-houses recorded in the parish in 1822. (fn. 386) A brewery in Church Street was in operation by 1835 and belonged to Holmes & Co. in 1889; (fn. 387) it closed down c. 1892 when its business was taken over by the Eagle brewery, which occupied a former saw-mill on the river near Bowbridge until c. 1900. (fn. 388) The Brimscombe brewery of Smith & Sons at Far Thrupp was in production in 1856 and until the First World War. (fn. 389)

The wholesale manufacture of clothing was established at Stroud by the brothers George and Henry Holloway at a factory in the street which consequently became known as Threadneedle Street. At the end of 1854 the brothers, together with Matthew Crowe, took a lease of a warehouse which was apparently at the site, and they were already occupying an adjoining building in which they had installed a steam-engine. (fn. 390) The business was said to employ 1,500 hands in 1890, (fn. 391) many of them outdoor workers. (fn. 392) By 1903 the firm also had a factory in Brick Row Road, (fn. 393) which it occupied in 1971 when the original factory had been given up. Another wholesale clothing business was established by David Williamson before 1879, and in 1898 the firm, by then styled Williamson, Tratt, & Co., built a tall six-storey brick factory at Cheapside near the railway station; in 1902 the firm went into liquidation and Hill, Paul, & Co., also clothing manufacturers, took over the factory and were employing c. 110 people there in 1971. (fn. 394) Another firm of clothing manufacturers, the Hound Brand Works Ltd., was established in the town by 1906 and until the late 1920s; it occupied a brick-built factory at the junction of Lansdown and Slad Road. (fn. 395)

In 1608, apart from the cloth-workers, a considerable body of craftsmen and tradesmen were listed under Steanbridge and Over Lypiatt, most of them presumably working in the growing town of Stroud which lay in the two tithings. They were 4 tailors, 4 cordwainers, 2 smiths, a carpenter, a joiner, a currier, a hatter, a mercer, 4 butchers, an innkeeper, a carrier, and a coser (a dealer or broker). Nether Lypiatt tithing had only 4 carpenters, (fn. 396) but the Paganhill division of the parish was served by a joiner, a wheeler, a carpenter, 2 sawyers, a smith, 2 shoemakers, a mason, a tailor, and a tiler. (fn. 397) Among the less common tradesmen recorded later were a cutler in 1663 and a watchmaker in 1664, (fn. 398) and a watch- and clockmaker of the town died in 1767. (fn. 399) Mercers were fairly numerous in the 17th and 18th centuries and were generally men of some wealth and importance, including Nathaniel Gardner (d. 1671), owner of the Stratford estate, and James Winchcombe, who acquired Ham Mill in 1743. (fn. 400) In the 19th century most of the craftsmen of the parish worked in Stroud town: in 1821 those enumerated in Over Lypiatt and Steanbridge tithings included 33 shoemakers, saddlers, and other workers in leather, 18 smiths and other metalworkers, 44 carpenters and other woodworkers, and 40 men employed in the building trade. By that date the town also had over 90 shopkeepers of various kinds. (fn. 401) There was also a number of craftsmen and tradesmen serving the small settlements grouped around the mills and canal in the Frome valley. In 1856 Wallbridge had a wood-turner, a shoeing smith, 2 builders, and 2 shopkeepers; Bowbridge had a builder, a blacksmith, and 2 shopkeepers; Thrupp had a timber-haulier, a bootmaker, a rope-maker, and 6 shopkeepers; Brimscombe had 2 stonemasons, a blacksmith, a nail-maker, 2 shoemakers, a carpenter, a builder, and 4 shopkeepers; and Bourne had a blacksmith, a wheelwright, a nail-maker, a builder, and 4 shopkeepers. The coal trade on the canal, and presumably by then on the railway too, employed 5 coal-merchants at Wallbridge, two at Brimscombe who were also brick-makers, and one at Bourne. (fn. 402) Other inhabitants of the parish who were employed by the canal trade are mentioned above. (fn. 403) The Paganhill division of the parish in 1856 was served by 2 carpenters, a butcher, a blacksmith, a bootmaker, a shoemaker, a wheelwright, and 3 shopkeepers. (fn. 404)

The local oolite has been dug for building and lime-burning in numerous small quarries, particularly at Stroud hill east of the town, (fn. 405) where a quarry master was recorded in 1856. (fn. 406) The quarry which gave the name to the small settlement called Quarhouse in the south-east corner of the parish was being worked in 1754, (fn. 407) and another quarry in the same area was leased to a mason in 1742. (fn. 408) Stone was being quarried in Paganhill tithing in 1572 and there was a quarry at Whiteshill in 1782; (fn. 409) deposits of gravel in the lower part of the tithing have also been worked. (fn. 410)

Markets and fairs. The market-place of Stroud was mentioned in 1570, (fn. 411) although no grant of a statutory market has been found before 1607 when the lord of Bisley hundred, Henry Danvers, was given the right to hold a market at Stroud on Fridays and fairs on 1 May and 10 August. (fn. 412) The profits of the market and fairs descended with the lordship of the hundred until at least the 1770s; (fn. 413) in 1820, however, the tolls of the fairs and market were put up for sale with Over Lypiatt manor (fn. 414) and until at least the 1880s the lord of the manor received the profits of the part of the market that was held at the Cross. (fn. 415) In 1759 it was decided to hold great markets on two Fridays of the year for the sale of cattle, leather, cheese, bacon, and other goods. (fn. 416) In the 1920s and 1930s, besides the Friday market, a produce market was held on Thursdays. (fn. 417) The ancient market was later discontinued but a small weekly market for household goods was revived in the mid 1960s. (fn. 418)

Most of the market activities took place at the Shambles where a market-house, described above, was built by John Throckmorton c. 1590. (fn. 419) The shops built by Throckmorton mentioned in 1627 (fn. 420) and the butchers' shops repaired in 1630 (fn. 421) evidently stood there, and in 1651 the Stroud feoffees, owners of the Shambles, leased to John Bond, a butcher, all the standings, pentices, shambles, and stalls there, together with all profits from the tradesmen and craftsmen using them on market and fair days, but reserving the profits from shops and stalls under the market-house. (fn. 422) In 1722 the feoffees were receiving the rent of butter women's stools, (fn. 423) and the buttermarket was being held under the market-house in 1861. (fn. 424) Extensive improvements carried out at the Shambles by the feoffees between 1830 and 1835 included the building of a new butchers' market and a range of stalls under a cast-iron colonnade. (fn. 425) The corn-market was being held at the Cross in 1708 and 1835; (fn. 426) in 1861 a part of the White Hart inn there was converted to a corn exchange (fn. 427) but it was presumably superseded by the new corn exchange built by the feoffees in the Shambles in 1867. (fn. 428) Soon after 1825 the pig-market was moved from the lower end of High Street to the Cross, (fn. 429) which was still the site of the market for livestock in 1865. (fn. 430) In 1889 a new cattle-market was opened in Lansdown (fn. 431) but it was no longer used in 1904. (fn. 432) The small market held from the mid 1960s was sited in the old corn exchange in the Shambles.

In the 1760s the two fairs, which were being held on 12 May and 21 August as a result of the calendar change, dealt in cattle, sheep, and pigs, (fn. 433) and from 1792 they were also horse-fairs. (fn. 434) By 1870 the May fair, which had been altered to the 10th of the month early in the century, was a pleasure-fair while the August fair was still used for the sale of cattle. (fn. 435) The fairs were apparently discontinued c. 1895. (fn. 436)