Chase Mill is situated on the Winchester Road heading North just coming into Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire. It has recently
undergone extensive renovation and conservation under the Raphael European Programme for the restoration of Pre-industrial
watermills in Europe and our job is to build an oak bridge which will span the mill stream accross into the mill itself. The
mill was aslo featured on the Channel 4 series 'Salvage Squad', but contrary to what the programme makers said, the bridge
was built and "finished" enitirely by us alone. Bloody cheek.
....To begin with, we removed the rotten bridge supports and made good the existing masonry and supporting iron work. |
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The Oak we used for this job was extracted the traditional way using heavy horses. The oak was felled as part of a woodland
management and regenration project between Hampshire County Council's Countryside Service (see 'links' page) and local residents
of the Whiteley Copse, Hampshire, area.
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The stretcher bearing beams are tenoned into the existing brickwork and the surrounding area secured in cement. The cross
beams are then lap-jointed into the stretchers. |
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The oak boards are cut to size, the stanchions are bolted through the stretcher beams and the bridge starts to take shape. |
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