The undulating woodland and the damp, picturesque valleys to the north and west of Liphook are among the quietest and least known places in our local landscape. Yet for centuries this area, dominated by the Royal Forest of Woolmer and the southern arm of the River Wey, was alive with the noise of industry. It can be traced back to the time of the Romans, who worked iron here, and by the seventeenth century the Lord of the Manor, Henry Hooke, had developed a considerable industry, only for it to die out by the middle of the eighteenth. He had ironworks in nearby Hammer Vale, and thought to add to his capacity by digging out the three ponds known as Waggonners Wells.

It is not known whether this scheme actually came to fruition, as no industrial remains have been found in the vicinity, but the ponds have become a place of rare beauty.

Other industries thrived in the district: milling corn, for example, which happily survives to this day at nearby Headley Mill, broom-making and above all, paper-making. There were more than twenty mills along the course of the River Wey, and several shared common ownership within the parish of Bramshott.

It appears that Bramshott Mill was first used for the manufacture of paper in 1684, and by 1757, together with three other mills close by, was owned by the Pim family, who were descendants of Henry Hooke, and remained at the mill until 1809. But the great period of the Bramshott Mill, and in due course the others at Standford and Barford, began in 1822, when William Warren became the owner.

Warren, a prominent Methodist, came from a family of papermakers in Devon, and arrived in the district after marrying Elizabeth Roe, of Midhurst. The firm rapidly expanded and by 1852 Warren’s two sons, George Roe and Andrew, had entered the firm, which became known as Wm. Warren & Sons. They were benevolent employers, building cottages on Passfield Green for the workers, and others close by at Conford. Their workers were all made members of the Bramshott Provident Friendly Society, and always enjoyed an annual outing, in 1851 travelling to the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park on what must have been the trip of a lifetime. The family remains in the district to this day.

Some idea of what the Bramshott and Standford Mills looked like in their hey-day can be gained from the bill-heads which survive, which also show some of the wide variety of papers the firm produced: glazed, air-dried & pure hope browns, whites and coloured, paper bags for every trade, tea and coffee papers, account books and bill-heads, envelopes and note papers. Yet despite making this, the firm was hardly profitable, as one year’s accounts for Standford Mill show. Outgoings were £222. 0s.7d, of which £105. 14s. 6d. was spent on materials and £62. 0s. 7d. on wages.

A machine man earned 3 shillings a week. The mill earned £195. 10s. by selling paper, and therefore lost more than £26 during the year. Tiny sums by today’s standards, but enough to close the mill down in 1886.

The last Warren to work Bramshott Mill became bankrupt in 1896, but somehow it survived under the management of Portals of Laverstoke, a highly respected and long established firm who made paper for the Bank of England. At Bramshott they produced paper for Post Office postal orders, employing almost 100 people until their lease expired in 1924.

After the war what was left of the buildings, including the warehouses built during the 19th century, became part of Passfield Mill Business Park, housing a variety of small businesses, some small reminder of the industries that had thrived in the Wey Valley for centuries.

Tom Muckley, January 2006

This article was originally published by the Petersfield Post

tommuckley.co.uk