Watermills (Shire Library)

Watermills were once commonplace but, because of their domestic scale and their often picturesque waterside locations, many have now lost their waterwheels and machinery and the buildings have been converted to other uses. Water power has been used for over 2000 years, initially for grinding grain and pumping water, and later for driving processing machinery for a wide variety of industries, which had a far-reaching effect on the economic and social development of Britain from the middle of the eighteenth century. In this new book, watermill expert Martin Watts, author of the Shire book "Water and Wind Power", explains the history and development of watermills as working buildings and the importance of the wider appreciation of the built environment and the use of natural sources of power.