Belbroughton History Society: Unveiling of Plaque at Galton’s Mill
On Saturday 3 November, Belbroughton History Society invited some 50 people to Galton’s Mill, Belbroughton, for the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the history of the mill and its waterwheel. We were really pleased that among the guests were people who had worked there as scythe-makers before the factory closed in 1942. Others had fathers and brothers who had worked there. It provided a wonderful opportunity to reminisce about the old days.
The plaque was installed as part of our project to mark the interesting buildings in our village. We were particularly pleased to discover, when we did our research on Galton’s Mill, that the wheel which was installed in 1793, is the oldest known cast iron waterwheel in the country. It has since been listed by English Heritage. Councillor Janice Boswell, who represents Belbroughton on Bromsgrove District Council, kindly unveiled the plaque for us. She expressed her delight at finding this unique piece of history right in our midst; Belbroughton can be proud of its standing in the world.
We would particularly like to thank Tim Booth of the Midlands Wind and Water Mills Group for his help in researching the mill and the wheel, and getting the wheel listed. Our thanks are also due to Alun Williams and Steve Boon, who have businesses at Galton’s Mill, for supporting the project and letting us take over their premises for the unveiling. It was wonderful to be able to get a close up view of the wheel.
About the Mill and the Wheel
In the 16th century, the mill was used for grinding corn and known as Savage’s Mill.
In 1751, the site was leased to Farmer and Galton, Birmingham gun makers, who subsequently bought the lease in 1788. Their most important product was the muzzle loading flintlock musket and the mill was used for grinding the gun-barrels. A large part of their output was sold to African tribes in exchange for hostages from enemy tribes, who were then transported as slaves to work on the American plantations. Bowing to pressure from the anti-slavery movement, and in particular from the Society of Friends (Quakers) of which he was a member, Samuel handed the business over to his son in 1795. Having amassed a large fortune, the Galtons abandoned gun-making in only 1818 to concentrate on banking.
Isaac
Nash rented Galton’s Mill in 1846. It
was here that he was able to make a complete scythe for the first time – up to
then, he had only been able to undertake the first two processes, welding and
plating, before selling the partially finished scythes to his rivals, the
Waldron’s, to complete. He
gradually expanded his business and in 1873 he bought out the Waldrons and
established Nash Works in the centre of the village.
Galton’s had six grinding wheels and was used for scythe grinding until
1942 when a break in the pit wheel occurred.
