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The many lives of John Smeaton’s High Mill

Date
03 February 2025

Jon Muir shares what's next for Smeaton's heritage structure, unveiling some of the surprising things he's found during the redevelopment – including a secret room!

The many lives of John Smeaton’s High Mill
John Smeaton designed and built High Mill in the 1760s. Image credit: Jon Muir

In the 1760s, the town of Alston Moor in Cumbria wished to build a new corn mill.

And there was no better person for the job than John Smeaton.

I bought the High Mill and the factory next door in 2023 with the intention to turn them into craft workshops and studio spaces. Somewhere where a creative community can gather and share skills with all.

We’ve got a long way to go to finish this work, but already we have unearthed some interesting discoveries – including a secret room!

Here are some of the things we’ve learned about the many lives of Smeaton’s High Mill.

The original design

The High Mill that Smeaton designed and built in 1767 was unusual in that its wheel had a very narrow (10in) but large diameter (30ft).

The wheel had several unusual features designed to harness maximum power from a poor water supply.

The mill was finished and available for rent by 1775. The first leaseholder was one Adam Wilkinson & Co., who paid £30 a year (about £4,800 in today’s money).

The water wheel was replaced with a 21ft-diameter version in 1817. Image credit: Jon Muir
The water wheel was replaced with a 21ft-diameter version in 1817. Image credit: Jon Muir

Bombers and golf clubs

During World War II, the mill and adjacent buildings were used to make components for Lancaster bombers, run by North East Coast Aircraft Components Limited (NECACO).

It came to be known as “Top Factory”.

Then, in 1947, a Mr Ball purchased High Mill to begin his new venture with the Shaw process of casting.

This site became the first and only for many years to cast irons for golf clubs.

Some of the top golfers’ clubs were cast there, including Jack Nicklaus.

A new life for the mill

A few months after purchasing the mill, it became clear to me that the preparation for the planning application was going to take some time.

The factory needed a whole new roof, including beams, whereas the mill was fairly watertight.

We decided to focus on the factory first as the planning application was considerably simpler, then use the rental income to renovate the mill.

New door to the factory, built from reclaimed wood. Image credit: Jon Muir
New door to the factory, built from reclaimed wood. Image credit: Jon Muir

The Annexe

There is a building connected to the mill and factory via an overhead walkway which we have dubbed The Annexe.

The current plan is to establish a gallery/cafe for the resident artists to display works and to attempt to draw in more tourists to the heritage centre.

The mill will house six art studios in its top floors, with a room to hire for small arts and heritage classes.

The heritage centre itself will be linked to the wheel and focus on Smeaton’s involvement in the area.

The secret room

The lower ground level is where it gets interesting.

We have access to the extensions on this level, but not the original building.

We can see old pipework running into the void, and from Smeaton’s drawings, we know there was an external entrance into this space.

There is also a lintel and evidence of a blocked-up doorway between this room and the wheelhouse.

The extension is divided by a solid stone wall, preventing us from getting to the blocked-up door.

The only other way to enter this void would be through the wheelhouse, where just past the wheel there is the blocked-up doorway from Smeaton’s drawings.

We should be able to go through here and turn right into the original building.

Our theory

Our leading hypothesis is that this space may contain sensitive information from the WWII efforts of NECACO, the bomber factory.

During and after the war, it wasn’t uncommon for information to be sealed into a room.

This matches with how very little we know of the war-related activities here compared to other sites.

None of the local former employees knew about the room though.

Discoveries

I require listed building consent before I can start opening up doorways in a grade II* listed building.

So I will have to wait and keep everyone else waiting too. I plan to fully document my exploration.

As for other discoveries, there have been lots of post-war analogue technology, such as Venner time switches, and hundreds of master casts left over from precision products.

Just recently we found an opening to a space under the walkway, where we found an old coat and some old cigarette boxes.

It’s amazing that after almost two years we are still discovering these spaces.

The only milling-related artefact I've found is a small piece of paper pinned to a beam under a broken ceiling tile which reads: “1st prize, Allendale County show, Poultry feed and dog biscuits”.

Which I think is wonderful and I hope to find more once renovations begin.

The freshly-painted loading bay at High Mill. Image credit: Jon Muir
The freshly-painted loading bay at High Mill. Image credit: Jon Muir

Future

Sadly, the wheel will never turn again by water power as the supply is long gone, but the mill race, which the wheel’s water waste flows into, is still running strong.

The potential to use this for hydro power is a real possibility and could see the site having an independent power source.

The wheel will be refurbished and could be turned on its axle for display purposes.

We’re also working on the displays for the heritage centre (plus whatever we find in the secret room!).

The goal is to recognise Smeaton and his work, as well as the history of this fascinating building, with support from the Alston Moor Historical Society.

I started this to build a creative community and have stumbled upon so much more than I could even have imagined.

If you’d like to get involved, please get in touch with me at [email protected]. Help is very much welcomed!

  • Jon Muir, director at Hi Mill CIC