A Living History of Harbertonford Woollen Mill

The story begins in 2017 when Geoff our previous Joint Chair, suggested we started an Oral History Project. Oral History, although in some ways the oldest kind of recorded history, is an increasingly popular way of creating a record for now and for the future. By recording stories now, we have the opportunity to learn about the past from first hand experiences, creating a unique resource for use in the future.

Following some initial investigations and advice, we decided that the focus of this, our first project of this kind, would be the Woollen Mill in Harbertonford. The Mill, which has had many lives in terms of the generations of workers, owners, and products created, has played a vital role in village life since the 1600s. At its zenith in the 19th century it employed over 100 people from the village and surrounding area. The Mill continues as a feature in the village, following recent conversion into housing.

To date we have interviewed over 20 people, most of whom had a connection with the Mill, either through working there or having family members who did. Although our focus has been the Mill, we have been interested to hear about other aspects of village life.

Our aim is to create a series of short accessible films hopefully of interest both locally and to the wider public. We plan to create a film depicting the history of Harbertonford Mill through the lives of those who worked there and their families.

We have a wealth of source material about many other aspects of village life such as schools, pubs, work and farming and we plan to go on to make films about these stories.

We have been very fortunate to receive grant funding towards the cost of this project from the Harberton Parish Community Fund and The Elmgrant Trust.

Although Covid-19 has presented some obstacles, we are edging forward and hope to complete the film withing the next year.

We are very grateful to those who have taken part in this project and for those who have helped with the lengthy process of transcribing the interviews. We have made some very intriguing discoveries along the way and look forward to being able to share the fruits of our labours with you.

Memories of the Mill- Betty Baldwin

Listen to a clip

The Mill Chimney – John Soper

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The Mill as a child – Pam Briggs

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Mill photos, Newspaper Articles & Other Information