Bewerley – SE 152651
Little now remains of this mill, which belonged to the White family of Walling Wells, who were the chief Mineral Lords of Bewerley Liberty. Richard Taylor became owner of the minerals on Bewerley Common before 1678 and they passed to Thomas White, who married Taylor’s daughter, in 1698.
White’s Mill, on the banks of the Sish Wash in the grounds of Eagle Hall, may be on the site of Proctor’s Mill. White was working the mines by 1699 and one of his mill accounts, for c1707, has survived. This shows that the mill had an ore and a slaghearth, and that lead was shipped to York via Milby, on the River Ouse.
The mill is shown on Thomas Jeffrey’s 1773 map of Yorkshire, and it is also on a map prepared for the sale of Eagle Hall Estate in April 1814. Although details of the mining leases were included in the sale catalogue, the minerals were reserved. Nevertheless, it is likely that, if White’s Mill was not already closed, the purchasers of Eagle Hall had it closed soon after the sale.
Further information and references can be found in:
- Gill, M.C. Yorkshire Smelting Mills Part 2, Northern Mine Research Society Memoirs 1993, British Mining No 48, pp 132-151
