Tumbling Weir, Ottery St Mary

Hubby and I went to Devon for a couple of days to attend the funeral of my brother-in-law's mother, who has recently died at the magnificent age of 102. I am a bit behind with blipping and commenting, but will catch up!

We stayed at a lovely hotel called the "Tumbling Weir" in Ottery St Mary. It is one of the best hotels we have ever stayed in, being very comfortable and friendly and the food was fantastic. JohnW has blipped some nice colour images.

An excerpt from the information board beside the Tumbling Weir:

Ottery St Mary's Industrial Revolution
"Towards the close of the eighteenth century there was constructed on this site one of the world's first water-powered factories... a scheme was launched in 1788 to build a new 'manufactory' at Ottery for the carding and spinning of wool, using the recently-invented 'water frame' machinery. At the same time the original corn mill which had stood here for 700 years, ws demolished and a new, much bigger one built.

"The existing leat which supplied the old corn mill did not provide a sufficient head of water for the new mill and factory, so the level of the water in the mill basin had to be raised by eight feet. This was achieved by reducing the fall along the leat. Then, as now, the water level was maintained by the circular 'Tumbling Weir' which discharged the overflow into the river through a tunnel."