River Alne
Template:Geobox The River Alne is a tributary of the Arrow and has its headwaters to the north of Wootton Wawen.
Course
Its source is at Pink Green near Wood End; it then flows close to Tanworth-in-Arden and on to Henley-in-Arden, where several changes to the original course of the river have been made in the past to prevent flooding. To the south near Wootton Wawen it is the main feeder for Wootton Pool. The river continues to flow generally southwards before joining with the River Arrow at Alcester, which itself joins the River Avon near Salford Priors.[1]
Watermills
The first flour mill on the banks of the river is half a mile south of Henley In Arden at Blackford Mill. The river becomes large enough when it reaches Wootton Wawen to have provided the source of power for a large 19th-century multi-storey mill (now disused) near the village of Great Alne. The water wheel was replaced by a turbine prior to the First World War. At one time the mill, which was operated by the Spencer family, had 15 employees and supplied flour to a wide range of bakers including Weston-super-Mare. Although the mill closed in the 1960s, the current owner may begin milling again using millstones. [2]
Hoo Mill in Haselor, is also powered by the river between Great Alne and Alcester and is considered to be the most complete traditional water-mill in the area. It still retains an internal waterwheel, which is still operational with a complete, but disused set of corn milling machinery, including an unusual sack hoist system. Constructed in 1810, the mill was also used for needle pointing. The last owner generated his own hydro-electricity using a turbine. [2]
References
- ^ "Get-a-map online". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- ^ a b "A Gazeteer of Industrial Archaeology". Alcester and District Local History Society. Retrieved 12 June 2013.