Wellington was once one of the largest producers of woollen cloth in the Southwest, and its wateriness was critical to that success : ‘Thomas Fox decided to relocate the business to a larger premises after discovering a former flour mill, which offered more space and was ideally located close to the vital water supply from the River Tone. This allowed the mill to become water and steam powered before the days of gas and electricity. This created a revolutionary change whereby wool could be woven into cloth more efficiently. Additionally, the location at Tonedale was also conveniently situated near the main town of Wellington, Somerset.’
We clambered through brambles and fallen trees to follow the old leat that took water to and through the mill. @wellingtontransition are discussing the potential for this to become a series of wildlife ponds and wetlands.
Writer, editor, gardener and activist, Anita is one of the powerhouses behind the inspirational @wellingtontransition (part of the national transition town movement) which now cares for 65 acres of the town’s green space, and is continually generating projects to benefit people, wildlife and place.
On Fox’s Field they’ve created a forest garden from scratch, it’s big! We admired the mushrooms- Earth cups and ?? russet ones enjoying the compost and bark chips.
