Wansbrough Paper Mill was a
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
located in the town of
Watchet
Watchet is a harbour town, civil parish and electoral ward in the county of Somerset, England, with a population in 2011 of 3,785. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The town lies at the mouth of ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, when it was the UK's largest manufacturer of
coreboard.
[
]
History
Watchet, then a relatively isolated farming community with a major port on the Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
since Roman times, had a population with a need for income over the winter months. With access to ample supplies of wood in the Quantock Hills
The Quantock Hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1956.
Natural England have desi ...
, the earliest records of paper making in the community date back to 1652.
In the 15th century, a flour mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
had been established in the town near the mouth of the Washford River
The Washford River rises at near Luxborough in the Brendon Hills and flows through Somerset to the Bristol Channel at Watchet.
The river valley passes through the Cleeve Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest, and close to Cleeve Abbey
...
, by the Fulford and Hadley families. Taken over by Sir John Wyndham in 1616, he was keen to develop further milling facilities on his lands in the town. By 1587 the Wyndham estate had established a fulling and grist mill to the south west, on a farm called ''Snailholt'' (the site of today's paper mill factory), which was leased to Silvester Bickham. By 1652, the mill had started to produce some paper, which had been sold to John Saffyn of Cullompton
Cullompton () is a town and civil parish in the district of Mid Devon and the county of Devon, England. It is north-east of Exeter and lies on the River Culm. In 2011 the parish as a whole had a population of 8,499 while the built-up area of t ...
, Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
.[
By 1727 the tenant of the mill was John Wood, the first of four generations of that family to work the mill until 1834.][ His son William Wood developed the first paper mill factory on the site from the 1750s.][ Converting an old ]apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
-fruit press
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...
originally used for making cider
Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...
, paper was initially produced by hand using the locally developed St Decumans process which utilised a vat,[ to produce one cart of paper product per week.][
In 1846 business partners James Date, William Peach and John Wansbrough bought the business from Wood's estate, and introduced mechanised-production via a ]water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
powered pulley system.[ But from the 1860s, the factory started the process of converting to steam power.][ As the installed ]Lancashire boiler
A shell or flued boiler is an early and relatively simple form of boiler used to make steam, usually for the purpose of driving a steam engine. The design marked a transitional stage in boiler development, between the early haystack boilers and t ...
s had initial draughting problems being located in a shelter valley, in 1865 a square-shaped chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
was built of local red bricks from Wellington Brickworks. Its four-sections were each marked by a double-course of buff brick from Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...
, and further bound by iron-bands. Originally in height, two further sections were added totalling to provide additional up-draught. The chimney survived until 2011, when it was replaced by a new stainless-steel structure and demolished.[
Having started producing ]paper bag
A paper bag is a bag made of paper, usually kraft paper. Paper bags can be made either with virgin or recycled fibres to meet customers’ demands. Paper bags are commonly used as shopping carrier bags and for packaging of some consumer go ...
s from 1866,[ by 1869 Wansbrough's son A.C. Wansbrough was the sole owner. In the same year he introduced the factories first papermaking machine, and by 1871, 26 men, 23 women and 10 boys were employed at the mill. A devout ]Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
, Wansbrough built a chapel within the factory grounds and insisted that his employee's worship there at least weekly.[ By this time the factory employed 120, with a workforce mainly made up of widows, who: took less pay; didn't join unions and hence didn't strike; and reduced the ]poor relief
In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
on parish rates.[ Most of the mill was destroyed by fire in 1889, but less than ten years later five paper machines were operating, and the mill had become the largest manufacturer of paper bags in the UK.] In 1896, the business became a limited liability company
A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
as the Wansbrough Paper Company Ltd., hence its modern name.[
]
On 31 March 1862, the West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which is ...
was opened from to its terminus at . But it was not until 16 July 1874 that the Minehead Railway Company in extending the line also connected the mill to the railway. Both lines were operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway
The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with ...
, which became part of the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(GWR) in 1876. The Minehead Railway was taken over by the Great Western in 1897, but the West Somerset Railway remained an independent company until 1922 when it too was absorbed by the Great Western.
The company was bought by W.H. Reed in 1901 to avoid bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
, at which time it employed 350 people. In 1910 the factory purchased its own Clyde puffer
The Clyde puffer is a type of small coal-fired and single-masted cargo ship, built mainly on the Forth and Clyde canal, and which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides of Scotland.
Built between 1856 and 1939, these stu ...
steamboat ''SS Rushlight'', which transported coal from the South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espec ...
to power the company's static steam engines, and on the return journey distributed paper products.[ The port also allowed for importation of additional supplies of wood fibre, plus ]esparto grass
Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. ''Stipa tenacissima'' and ''Lygeum spartum' ...
from Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and rags from France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
for pulping,[ as well as international product distribution.] A second ship, also a Clyde Puffer named ''SS Arran Monarch'' was added in 1953.[
Staying within the ownership of the Reed family from 1901,][ from 1974 it was part of the family-controlled ]public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
Reed Smith Holdings.[ In 1977, employing 500 people, the company and mill were bought by the St Regis Paper Company of ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.[ In 1979, the work force of 280 was producing 1,500 tonnes of product a week form mainly recycled pulp, including brown paper for use by the ]cardboard box
Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material. The term ''cardboard'' may refer to a va ...
industry, plus glazed and wet strength papers for bags, envelopes, wallpapers, and wrappings.[
]
DS Smith and closure
After St Regis merged with Champion International Paper Champion International was a large paper and wood products producer based since 1980 in Stamford, Connecticut. It was acquired by International Paper in 2000.
From 1893 it had been based in Hamilton, Ohio, expanding to plants in Texas and Western N ...
in 1983, in 1986 DS Smith
DS Smith plc is a British multinational packaging business, headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
The business was founded by two cousins, David Gabriel ...
plc, now the UK's largest producer of paper from recycled materials, acquired the UK and European assets of the St Regis Paper Company for £83million.[
With an annual capacity of 180,000 tonnes of product and employing 174 people, the mill was the UK's largest manufacturer of coreboard, whilst also producing testliner, recycled ]envelope
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card.
Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one of three shapes: a rhombus, a shor ...
, bag and kraft papers. The mill also backed up its sister-plant Kemsley Paper Mill
Kemsley Paper Mill is a paper mill located in the village of Kemsley near Sittingbourne in the English county of Kent.
Sittingbourne Paper Mill
Paper manufacture started in Sittingbourne in 1708, when Peter Archer was recorded as a paper-make ...
in plasterboard
Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick ...
liner production.
In August 2015 it was announced that the mill would close by the end of the year. No definitive reason was given as orders still remained on the companies books. The DS Smith group took a £30M write down to its books on closing the mill.
References
{{reflist
External links
Wansbrough Mill at DS Smith
Social history of Watchet
1587 establishments in England
Pulp and paper mills
Companies based in Somerset
Buildings and structures in West Somerset
Watchet