Witheridge has had at least six mills through the centuries, but, as with so many other areas, the absence of many written records makes accurate identification and dating impossible. The Mills at Witheridge, Bradford and Drayford were water powered, whilst that at Woodington was wind powered. Devon has never been a county known for its windmills, as, for the most part, there was ample waterpower for Grist Mills. In his book entitled 'Windmills of Devon', Walter Minchinton states that 'the 56 possible windmills in Devon must be compared with the certain existence of 13 tide mills and over 600 water mills.' The earliest windmill mentioned was one in Woodbury in 1296, and Cruwys Morchard had one in 1561, whilst Donne's 1765 map of Devon shows only four, Abbotsham, Rackenford, Holsworthy and Woodington Farm at Witheridge. The earliest windmill mentioned was one in Woodbury in 1296, and Cruwys Morchard had one in 1561, Donne's 1765 map of Devon shows only four, Abbotsham, Rackenford, Holsworthy and Witheridge. Donne may have missed a few, and more may have been built in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, before wind power gave way to water and steam. Most of the mills were built of masonry, some with a straight tower, and some tapering. The average windmill was 30 ft high with three storeys, and it was said that with a brisk wind a windmill could grind 12 bushel in an hour.

The Witheridge Windmill stood in a field across the road from Woodington Farm on the road to Puddington, the Tithe Map of 1837 recorded a Windmill Field there. This location is one of the original outlying parts of the parish, re-allocated in the 1880's and the location is puzzling, for the old Westway and Stourton mills on the River Dalch were much closer. The 1841 census shows the mill occupied, not by a miller, but by a labourer, Richard Phillips and his family. It may have stopped working long before that, as it does not appear on the land tax returns of 1780-1830, whereas the other mills in the parish do.

The Mills at Bradford and Woodington clearly appear on Donn's map of 1765, and the 'Tuck Mill' at Drayford was certainly in existence in 1632, when it was part of the Manor of Drayford sold by Scipio Stucley to Sir Edward Chichester, and the Miler was shown as Hugh Moore. The schedule of properties in Drayford itself showed four tenements, two cottages, a house, and the Mill, which is described as a "Tuck Mill". Tuck Mills were not used in the grinding of grain, but instead they powered a wheel studded with wooden hammers used in pounding cloth. Before 'Tuck Mills' were introduced, woven cloth had to be pounded or "tucked" by being trodden in troughs, but by the early 1500s, some watermills had been converted to play their part in the cloth industry, which was well established in North Devon. However, the cloth trade did not thrive forever, and, by the early 19th century many mills had reverted to grinding corn, and Drayford Mill may have changed at that time.

In a 1692 rate for the reparation of the Parish church of Witheridge, William Govier paid 6d for 'Dreford Mill.' Donne's map shows Drayford Mill, as does the Tithe Map. In 1811, William White paid a 5d farthing rate towards the repair of Drayford Bridge. In 1841, John White was miller there, with his 15-year-old son John, also described as 'miller'. By 1780 the miller was listed as being John Foxford, and the owner as Henry Arthur Fellowes Esq. By the time the Tithe Map appeared in 1840, the listing for Drayford Mill showed the mill as having seven acres of ground, and the miller was then John Moss. However, by 1841, John White and his 15-year-old son John, also described as 'miller'. In 1851, it was George Phillips, with his wife Ann, and three children. He came there in either 1846 or 1847. By 1878, George had died and his wife was miller. In 1891, their daughter Jane had taken over, with her 14-year-old son William, as miller's assistant, and her miller uncle, Thomas Stoneman. The Stonemans continued as Millers there until the end of the Mills working life in the 1930's. Loveday Venner (nee Stoneman) remembers her father Richard's decision to close the mill, and how on the final day of working he asked her mother to start the mechanism for the last grinding.

In 1845 at the age of 27, George Phillips, along with his wife Ann, and their three children had taken over the mill. By 1871, they had increased the land attached to the mill to 15 acres, but by 1878, George had died and his wife was the miller. By 1889, the old mill house attached to the barn was gone, and been replaced with the present house which had allowed the addition of a second wheel on to the east side of the barn, and for the mill leat to be divided so that both wheels could be used, as the map indicates. Loveday Venner can recall no barn wheel or barn leat, and believes spoil generated by the opening of Mill Quarry may have hidden all the remains. She is sure however that the barn machinery was still in use, linked across to that in the Mill itself. In 1891, their daughter Jane had taken over, with her 14-year-old son William, as miller's assistant, and her miller uncle, Thomas Stoneman. By the turn of the century, Richard Stoneman was the miller, and his son Richard followed him as Miller until the mill ceased working at some time in the 1930s. Loveday Venner (nee Stoneman) remembers her father Richard's decision to close the mill, and how on the final day of working, he asked her mother to start the mechanism for the last grinding.

Rather less is known about Bradford Mill although Donne has it on the map of 1765. There is a lease of Bradford Tracy Mill in 1579, from John Snow to John Crooke, and a reference in 1726, to 'a new unfinished mill beside the River Dart at Bradford Bridge in Bradford Tracy Manor,' and it appears on the Tithe Map. The 1780 Land Tax Assessment shows the miller as being John Burgess and the owner Rev Mr Melhuish, and we have a a comprehensive record of the millers for the next 100 years. William Crooke was miller in 1841, 1857 and 1870. In 1891, the census shows Thomas Nott as the miller, with Henry Blackford replacing him by 1893. By 1902, William Roberts was the miller, and he remained until the mill closed towards the end of the 1930's. His grandchildren, William and Pamela, recall that towards the end of the 1930's there was a very severe winter, during which the leat froze solid and no grinding could be done, soon after closure came. The leat continued to be popular with anglers, as eels were plentiful.

Witheridge Mill does not appear on Donne's map, but it is in the Land Tax returns. In 1870, the miller was James Davey, and the owner was Henry Arthur Fellowes (members of this family later became Earls of Portsmouth). In 1820, William Bodley was there, as he was in 1841 and 1871, but by 1883, the new miller was Amos Maire, and the Maire family in the shape of his sons remained at the mill until its closure in the 1950's when Charlie Maire was the miller.

Other Possible Mills in the Original Parish discovered or suspected so far.

Cann Mill
Mill (between Henceford and Stourton)
Stourton
Westway Mill
Town Mill (supported by notice of sale by auction in 1852)
Milltown (Probably should be Hilltown)


Both the undershot and the breastshot mills are not suited to the Devon terrain. The advantage of the overshot mill is that it can run on just a small amount of water, provided enough of a fall is achieved, the hilly Devonian landscape with its plentiful small streams is thus ideal for the overshot mill. The over-shot wheel is by far the most powerful; both because it receives the water at the very commencement of descent, and that the buckets with which this kind of wheel is ordinarily furnished retain the power until they gradually discharge their contents, as these buckets successively become inferior parts of the circumference.