Waterwheels

This Foldout looks at the subject of waterwheels.

Contents:

• General Points

• Some local waterwheels

General Points

Several types of waterwheel were in use to drive local mills

• Horizontal wheel
• Undershot wheel where the water strikes the paddles at the bottom of the wheel
• Breastshot wheel where the water strikes the paddles near the middle of the wheel
• Overshot wheel where the water strikes the paddles at the top of the wheel. This was the most efficient type
• Backshot wheel

Where the landscape did not provide a suitable supply of water, it was often necessary to construct a leet so that the water hit the breastshot and overshot wheels at the correct height.

Waterwheels were also used to drive fulling stocks.

Some local waterwheels

Beestonhirst Mill, Ripponden Bottoms Mill, Ogden Brighouse Corn Mill Brookfoot Dye Works Clough Mill, Walsden Foster Mill, Hebden Bridge Greenwood Lee, Heptonstall Grove Mills, Ovenden Hanging Lee Mill, Ripponden Hebden Bridge Mill Holme House Bridge Mill, Booth Holme House Bridge, Booth Hoo Hole Mill, Mytholmroyd Jumps Mill, Todmorden

Listerwick Colliery, Shibden Lumb Mill, Wainstalls Lumbutts Mill, Todmorden Mayroyd Mill, Hebden Bridge Mytholm, Shibden New Mill, Wainstalls Paper Mill, Cragg Vale Ripponden Mill Robinwood Mill, Todmorden Simm Carr Clough, Shibden Simm Carr coal mine, Shibden Spring Mill, Wainstalls Unitarian Church, Todmorden Upper Mill, Wainstalls

This & associated entries use material contributed by Marilyn Brichard

Page Ref: WW_122

search tips advanced search

site search by freefind