The area which lies to the left of Welham Road in Norton has been the site of milling for many years and it has been suggested that this activity went as far back as the 11th century. Howard Campion, a trustee at the Malton and Norton Heritage Centre, looks back at its history.
THE mill pond is fed from springs in Scott’s Hill and its purpose was to act as a dam to provide energy to drive the adjacent mill.
It was a bit of a ‘balancing act’ for the person who was in charge because the amount of water flowing in from the Scott’s Hill down to the lake via the trout hatchery was variable depending on how much rainfall there had been.
However, excessive rainfall could have also resulted in the Derwent rising and ‘backing up’ to Mill Beck.
The effect of this would have been a sort of ‘stalemate’ with the pressure from the lake water being compromised by water rising from the river.
Nowadays, pumping downstream does cancel the influence of the river but this was unfortunately not available during the mill’s working days.
The area was developed during the 1990s, with the lake reduced in size and being made more accessible than before. The original mill building was demolished and re-created into a more modern context.
Because of the trout hatchery upstream, the lake contained large quantities of trout but not all the fish remained within its confines.
Whilst there, they were fed well and one remembers Mr Anderson or Mr Oliver feeding them with a mixture of pig’s liver and lungs supplied by the Bacon Factory daily and minced in situ.
Local folks also enjoyed feeding the fish whilst the fish themselves were very capable of leaping up to catch flies.
The fish stock was never seriously depleted by escapees swimming through the mill whose internals are shown in two photographs.
Read more articles by Howard Campion:
- A look back at Welham Road in Norton
- Looking back at the original road out of Norton to York
- Looking back at a popular route to the coast in Ryedale
For the escaping fish it must have been a hazardous journey through the water wheel’s huge noisy mechanism.
Once through, the trout provided a source of recreation for those whose houses and gardens were on the stream’s edge.
It required elementary angling skills to make a ‘catch’, and those that were not caught certainly made entry down to the Derwent at its junction off Black Boards (Norton Road).
This was awkwardly placed but popular with fishermen as shown in the photograph with two prospective anglers at its point of entry to the Derwent.
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