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Last updated 28th Aug 2007  Background The Leat starts at Head Weir, north of Cullompton, and takes its water from the Spratford Stream which itself flows into the Culm just by the motorway junction. This stream in turn takes its water from the run-off of countless fields and ditches upstream. Consequently the level of the Leat goes up and down with the rainfall and the resulting silt problem is enormous. Regular dredging is required and this costs money. Thus we hope you will support the various events organised to fund the maintenance for your Leat. The Environment Agency has a responsibility limited to flood protection but, apart from that, has stated that it is not interested in managing the Leat nor keeping it flowing. The Leat is not a river but a man-made watercourse from Head Weir to Palmer’s Bridge on Station Road flowing roughly parallel to the main course of the Culm. It then flows through Higher Mill, Middle Mill and Lower Mill to join the River Culm some 1/4 mile below First Bridge on the B3181. The Leat is administered by the Cullompton Leat Conservancy Board which was formed to restore and maintain the Leat in 2005. The progress in cleaning up the Leat has been rewarding. The following photographs highlight the difference
|  | | 2005 | 2007 | Leat News June 2007 A most enjoyable Cheese and Wine Garden party was held at Selwood House to raise money for the Leat Maintenance Fund. The assembly gazed out of the windows at the pouring rain and consoled itself with the food and wine on offer. The weather relented halfway through and the party was able to get out and enjoy the gardens. It was a great gathering and made a profit of £255 for the Leat funds with many contributions coming as donations from those unable to attend. The Treasurer (Cllr Ray Weinstein) has been extremely skilful in securing grants for the planting of the island. Ray also organised a party from the Prince’s Trust to do the actual clearing and planting and this work is now complete. In fact the first water irises are now in flower. Board Members attended the Presentation Ceremony of the Prince’s Certificates to No 54 Team who did all the work. It was most rewarding to see the benefit the Trust confers on its young members and our representatives, in endeavouring to give their thanks to the workers, were actually thanked themselves for giving the Team the opportunity of such work. members Helen and Graeme Warren constructed and erected the bevy of bird boxes on and around the island and it lovely to see these boxes actually being occupied. Our thanks to Labdons for the gift of timber. Ray also organised a party from the Prince’s Trust to do the actual clearing and planting and this work is now complete. In fact the first water irises are now in flower. Board Members attended the Presentation Ceremony of the Prince’s Certificates to No 54 Team who did all the work. It was most rewarding to see the benefit the Trust confers on its young members and our representatives, in endeavouring to give their thanks to the workers, were actually thanked themselves for giving the Team the opportunity of such work. members Helen and Graeme Warren constructed and erected the bevy of bird boxes on and around the island and it lovely to see these boxes actually being occupied. Our thanks to Labdons for the gift of timber. History of the Leat We are indebted to Martin Watts for this history. The following notes on the Leat and its mills were compiled from various sources, including documents in the Devon Record Office. There is still much to be discovered about the history of the Leat and the mills, and the people who were involved with their use. It is hoped to compile a more detailed history as information becomes available. The Board will welcome any information, including personal memories and old pictures. The Cullompton or town Leat takes its water from the Spratford Stream, a tributary of the Culm, about half a mile north of the town, water being directed into the mouth of the Leat by a low stone weir. . The upper and lower sections of the Leat appear to make use of the natural course of one of the many streams that run southwards across the broad flood plain of the river Culm. When the Leat was first constructed is at present uncertain. There were mills serving Cullompton in the Middle Ages, but the evidence suggests that the earliest of these may have been located on the main river Culm, the oldest site possibly being that of King’s Mill, which may have been established in Anglo-Saxon times when Cullompton was a royal manor. There was also a mill at Ponsford, west of the town, by the early fifteenth century. A watercourse gifted to the town by the Abbot of Buckland in 1356 was for urban and domestic water supply rather than for power, and is not connected with the Leat. The south end of the Leat and Lower Mill are shown on an early seventeenth-century map and in 1678 the Towne Leate and the Lower or Southern Mill there called ye Town Mills of Cullompton are referred to in a lease. In 1700 six mills commonly called or known by the name of Cullompton Mills are recorded in a mortgage deed; these were the Higher, Middle and Lower Mills, each then with two waterwheels driven by water from the Leat. From the end of the eighteenth century there are frequent references to these mills and their uses, as well as to their owners and occupiers, in particular the Pigeon and Upcott families. Higher Mill appears to have always been used for grinding corn. It may be the ‘Mill at Columbton’ depicted in a late 18th century watercolour by the Reverend John Swete. In 1800 it was advertised for sale with two undershot waterwheels driving four pairs of millstones. It was then described as a grist mill, grist being a term for general milling. A watercolour, which dates from about 1848, shows the mill with a single waterwheel. Higher Mill, also known as Clarke’s Mill, was tenanted by John Pigeon in 1800 and also in 1856. In 1888 it was in the ownership of Mr J.S. Upcott, who leased it to his eldest son. In 1893 a water turbine and roller plant, for making fine white flour, were installed to supplement the waterwheel and millstones, and the mill, which was then rebuilt, became known as the Town Roller Mills. After the death of the young Mr Upcott in 1898, his widow carried on the business; in 1903 a limited company was formed, with Mr A.E. Lake as manager and Mr J. Lowe as foreman. The waterwheel was still used to drive millstones in 1911. Higher Mill continued to produce animal feed until 1974, latterly being occupied by Balsden Agricultural Merchants. It was subsequently converted to a house, but the American water turbine is still in place and has been returned to turning order by the present owners. In 1718 Middle Mills were the property of John Pigeon and there were two waterwheels here, each serving a mill built on opposite sides of the Leat. That on the town bank was a grist mill, while on the other side was a Leather mill, which burnt down in 1793-4. Tanning was an important industry in Cullompton and in the nineteenth century there were large tanneries at Court and Crow Green. In 1828 Middle Mills were purchased by William Upcott and by 1831 had been converted for use as a woollen manufactory. A number of wool spinners and workers were recorded as living in Middle Mill Lane in the 1851 census. The site is also associated with Bilbie’s bell foundry, where between 1754 and 1813 Thomas Bilbie and his son, Thomas C. Bilbie, cast over 400 bells. Their foundry was sold to W & C Pannell, who also made bells, in 1814. On the 1889 Ordnance Survey plan the site is shown as ‘Axle Works’ and in 1911 the premises, which included a yard, office, store, engine, workshop and smithy, then occupied by the Middle Mills Engineering Company, were put up for sale. The former millpond that served Middle Mill was subsequently filled in and the buildings largely demolished, although the remains of some walls and a chimney base survive on the town bank, just downstream of the bridge across the Leat. Martin Watts Walk to Head Weir - June 2007 The walk along the Leat to Head Weir took place on Sunday 17th July. The walk started just after 2.15pm from the car park in the Community Association Fields. Permission had been obtained from landowners to walk alongside the Leat to Head Weir. About 25 people took part in the walk, the weather was fantastic and everyone enjoyed seeing the Leat in a new light, since the dredging in April 2005. Photographs will be available at the town Council offices. For more information please contact the
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. Leat Bird Life Seen on the Leat and its Walks in 2006 and 2007  - Grey Heron
- Egret
- Kingfisher
- Grey Wagtail
- Pied Wagtail
- Dipper
- Blue, Coal and Great Tit
- Mistle Thrush
- Song Thrush
- Redwing
- Blackbird
- Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
- Chaffinch
- Green Finch
- Robin
- Wren
Meanwhile, overhead can be seen the wheeling Devon Buzzard, an occasional Sparrow Hawk glides between the trees, whilst the regular-visiting Peregrine uses the south eastern gargoyle of St Andrews Tower as a perch and a chopping board.  "Peregrine on St Andrews August 2007" Photo courtesy of Wayne Hackman Editor The Leat Website page is presented with the generous help of the Cullompton Website Group and edited by Clive Francis. Comments, Suggestions, and Contributions to him at:
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Photographs of the changing Leat Scenes are always welcome
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