Hidden in the woods

I recently read an interesting report of an archeological survey that has been carried out in Hirst Woods. (See HERE). It highlights the remains of New Hirst Mill, established in 1745 as a fulling mill (where wool was cleaned of dirt and impurities), probably built on the site of a 16th century iron smelting site. A mill dam was made across half the River Aire to power the mill. Looking at the scene today, you'd hardly realise anything had been there, though turbulence in the river indicates roughly where the dam/weir was sited.  

Anyway, I was intrigued enough to go and have a root around. Poking around in the undergrowth on the riverbank revealed a few bits of ironwork and stones. The iron post below is likely part of a turbine within the stone and brick-lined sluice/waterwheel pit.

Nearby you can see a chunk of what was originally the cobbled surface of the mill's ground floor:

 

There is some evidence of stone walls and metal parts:

Behind the mill there was a line of workers' cottages. You can just about make out some walls, though I'm unsure if what I photographed was the back wall of the mill or part of the cottages. 

The mill was in operation right up until the 1920s. Some of the sandstone it was built with must have come from the small quarry not far away, beside where the canal now passes through. When the buildings were demolished, most of the stone must have been removed and perhaps reused elsewhere. Many of the familiar paths we walkers and dog-walkers now tread were the lanes and holloways surrounding the mill and cottages. As I say, unless you're very observant, nowadays you'd hardly realise this had once been a busy little industrial settlement.