Saltford Brass Mill

Saltford Brass Mill is situated in the village of Saltford, five miles from the City of Bath and is next to by the River Avon in close proximity to the historic high street and two local pubs.  The mill was part of a company that manufactured brass products in the Avon Valley from the 18^th century until 1920s.  

Saltford Brass Mill is the only surviving mill remaining with a furnace and working water wheel between Bristol and Bath.  

English Heritage has funded repairs to the roof and the Brassmill has received other funding to support its building work .

The Brassmill is cared for by a group of dedicated volunteers and they are very keen to recruit new volunteers to help them to maintain the building and research the history of the Brassmill and the people who worked there. 

On its website are some pictures of the examples of brass objects made at Saltford Brassmill. http://www.brassmill.com/

The site of Saltford mill is recorded in the Domesday record when two watermills were listed in Saltford.  One thousand years ago this would probably have been a corn mill. In the 1500 and 1600s it probably would have been a woollen mill to support the woollen trade in Bath.   It is believed that in the 1700s the mill became a Brassmill, supporting the nearby Albert Mill in Keynsham.  There are few records of the earlier period.  An early 1900s  photograph shows the building extending as far as the present road, The Shallows.  The timber beams and pantiled roof are thought to survive from the early brassmaking period, which has recently had extensive repairs carried out by English Heritage.

There are many displays of brass objects and display boards showing photographs.  Visitors can also see the water wheel in action. 

There are a number of examples of locally produced artillery shells on display.  One of the last products to be made at Saltford Brassmill would have been components for artificial limbs.

Out of four original chimneys only one now remains within the footprint of the present museum.   The museum is lucky that this chimney remains almost totally intact and you can get a good impression of how the brass would have been fired in it's hearth. 

The display boards show photographs of flooding during the winter months when the mill would become flooded making it impossible for the men to work.  The workers would carry out gardening jobs in the mill owners garden during this period. 

There is a line on the wall about 120 cm high showing the most severe recent flood from 1981.  For this reason the museum closes down during the winter months. 

The photographs on their display boards cover the period from the beginning of 20^th century to the 1920s of Saltford and its parent mill at Keynsham.