The Fulling Mill

We went into Alresford and George and Anne showed us round the house that is being converted into somewhere suitable for modern living. It needs a lot of work! We took a walk around the town and along the River Alre which is a chalk stream that runs into the Itchen a short while later. It was easy to see lots of trout in the clear river.

My blip is of the 13th century Fulling Mill with the river running under it. I didn't know what a Fulling Mill was but it apparently is the process that tightens and shrinks woven cloth to make it more useable. It used to be done by hand feet, treading the cloth in shallow streams and introducing fuller's earth. Once mills were built and the process mechanised it was a very noisy process with the fulling stocks hammering the stuff into the cloth. The mill seems a much more peaceful place now.