Description

SK 85 SW HAWTON BOWBRIDGE LANE
(Off)
619-1/3/382 Gypsum Grinding Mill at
SK 8014 5070, on the
former Hawton Works Site
-II
Gypsum grinding mill. Late C 19, with C20 alterations. Red brick, with blue and buff brick decorative elements. C20 corrugated sheet roof covering. Built as part of Hawton Gypsum Works. 2 storey, linear lnill, formerly with ancillary attached structures to east and west (now removed). East Elevation: ground floor with 10 semi-circular arched openings, some now blocked. First floor with 6 selni-circular arched window openings, the heads enhanced by multi-coloured brickwork. Cast iron window frames ,vith glazing bars. Stubs of former attached range protrude from comers. West Elevation: similar arcading to lower floor, mostly blocked, and with altered and inserted openings at north-east end. Raised section of roof to centre of roof slope. Interior: near complete gypsum milling plant, together with primary and secondary drive mechanisms, fonnerly steam powered, latterly driven by electricity. Ground floor with twin doubles arcades of fluted cast iron COlUn1l1S supports lnillstone floor above. Between the columns of each twin arcade run the primary horizontal drive shafts for each side of the mill. Bevel gearing transferred the drive horizontally to 8 sets of grinding stones on either side, arranged in pairs and encased in timber drums. A roof level hopper delivered the gypsum to the stones, and ground gypsum was transferred to bagging areas by means of continuous vertical bucket lifts set between or adjacent to the stones, on the outer sides of the arcades. Timber chutes delivered the gypsum powder to the bucket lifts. At the foot of each lift, cast iron plates bear the inscription 'WAKES AND LAMB ENGINEERS AND MILLWRIGHTS NEWARK'. Central part of upper floor carries the millstones, with other areas housing access stairs, and ancillary processing machinery. Metal gantry and stairs to upper part of roof space gives access to hopper system and encased secondary line shafting. King-post roof trusses carry double purlins. History: Ha'vton Works was established with the opening of the nearby Beacon Hill Quarry in
.1881. It was linked by tramway to the quarry, and to a wharf on the river Trent. The site was operational until 1993. Although now an isolated component of a larger complex, the grinding mill represents a significant aspect of the gypsum plaster manufacturing process, with the near complete nlilling machinery, now an exceptionally rare survival, clearly demonstrating the scale and methods of gypsum production in one of the main centres of the industry.

Listing NGR: SK8014050700

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26548721

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)