Beck Mills, Skelsmergh was built in 1723 and its function was a 'fulling mill' - a step in woollen cloth making which involves the cleansing of cloth to eliminate oils, dirt and other impurities, and to make it thicker. Alongside the renovation of the old mill, the owners wanted to extend the works down river to uncover and restore the original leat that was the outflow from the mill to rejoin the river.
This project was a substantial undertaking over the course of 5 days. It involved the removal of a large number of saplings, young trees, mature trees and bushes adjacent to the mill and from the leat itself that had self seeded and become established. Their growth had completely hidden the leat from view and the root systems were starting to jeopardise the integrity and stability of the mill and leat structure.
The brash and smaller material was carried out by hand, whilst the larger and more difficult to access trees were dismantled and the sections were either lowered on a zip line or extracted with a uni-mog and crane. Other larger trees underwent crown reductions to increase the levels of light into the mill and to enhance the view down the river along the leat.
"Dan and his team make the impossible possible for us! Our mill at Beck Mills sits right on the river and is surrounded by trees, some of which had grown up through the leat and stonework surrounding the building. We needed to remove risks to the building and allow more light to the building as part of extension renovations, but we also wanted to retain the beautiful canopies that surround the mill. Dan and his team knew exactly how to achieve this. Their rope access skills and ingenious use of equipment meant we could achieve exactly what we wanted with no compromise.
Dan and his team are always our go-to for tree work on the Beck Mills Farm patch, some of which can be very challenging, and they have also helped with numerous other landscaping projects over many years. Their knowledge and clever ideas are invaluable to us and can’t recommend Hagglestock highly enough!"
Sophie Crewdson, Beck Mills, Kendal
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