The upstream brick floor has wooden bases with metal fixings, we believe a mixer stood here.
Mixers were used to remove tissue from bones using sulphuric acid to make fertilizer, we believe the brick floor is white due to acid spills.
The floor is adjacent to the trench and adjoins the hammer mill and cistern.
There are two long covered channels which run into the cistern.
An additional large brick floor was uncovered in early 2017 which goes over the upstream tunnel. In 2022 it was covered with soil to protect from frost damage and will become a Cornfield Flower area as part of our Wildflower Meadow project.
Interactive Plan Downstream Brick Floor
The downstream brick floor includes the cistern, sloping trough, small curved trench, furnace area.
It includes the top of a tunnel where the human skull was found.
Also there is a covered channel where we found fertilizer at the bottom.
The floor adjoins the main trench, hammer mill and cistern.
A piped drain runs around two edges of the floor, leading to the main trench.
There are many walls in this area, and the wagon is now sited there.
The area by the river has been covered with soil and seeded with grass, with a viewing window showing the brick floor.
All four grindstones were originally here by the river bank, and two have been moved back.
The other two grindstones are the other side of the water wheel on the upstream side.
Interactive Plan Upstream Brick Floor
The large brick structure is believed to be a hammer mill used to break up bones so they were small enough to be fed into the grindstones.
See the Chimney article for an explanation of how we think it was powered.
The main trench is a brick built bypass channel running parallel to the river to allow it to flow when locks were in use and to provide a water supply for the various processes used in making fertilizer. There are 3 tunnels along the channel, a human skull bone was found in the downstream tunnel end in 2015 and the tunnel exit was discovered and restored in 2016. Trench walls were rebuilt in November 2017. The channel also runs behind the Blacksmith area and boiling house. Bats are known to roost in the tunnels in winter.
The area in front of the water wheel is known as the machinery area as the drive gear from the water wheel was here as well as the grindstones, bearing and elevator.
When work started this area was full of rubble upto the wheel spindle, this shows the excavation and discovery of the lower floor. The large base stones where the grindstones sat were put back together and straightened.
On 22/6/17 a new curved pit was discovered containing several finds. In 2017 a water feed pipe was installed, covered with soil and a retaining wall built to conceal it. The pipe is used for turning the water wheel with a pump, this allows the wheel to turn without affecting the river level.
On 18/4/19 a walkway was installed to protect the delicate uneven floor and for safety reasons.
