The property comprises approximately 8.25 hectares of woodland and meadow lying in a bend on the Sapey Brook and straddling the parish boundary between Clifton-upon-Teme and Lower Sapey. 

The mill building and attached cottage are grade II listed buildings.  The cottage dates from the 17th century and is timber framed with brick infill panels and a plain tile roof.  The mill lies at the south-eastern base of the peninsula and is no longer operational but is largely intact and appears to be of nineteenth century date.  At the south-west point of the peninsular a substantial stone weir or dam originally diverted part of the brook’s flow along a leat to Hope Mill.  The mill was part of the Hope Estate in the 1840s.

The woodland at Hope Mill

The greater part of the woodland on the property occupies the steep sides of a deeply incised meander on the Sapey Brook.  This meander encloses a westward pointing peninsula surrounded to the north, west and east by the brook.  The Sapey flows south into this meander and south again out of it.  The course in both directions is steep sided and wooded.

The ecological survey conducted on behalf of the Marches Woodland Initiative by John Thompson in October 2000 characterised the woodland as being semi-natural with the majority of the trees being mature broad-leafed varieties.  Some small areas of the site are under a plantation of Norway Spruce.  Large areas were coppiced, with both hazel and ash trees showing signs of having been coppiced until as recently as 30-40 years ago.  The edges of woodland banks, old hedge lines (running through woodland) and trackways are defined by the presence of stands of coppiced hazel.  Modern post and wire fencing has been introduced to supplement the existing hedges, but the original layout of the field boundaries remains fossilized.

Extract from the 1st edition Ordnance survey map (1885)

Land parcel 7207

Grid ref.       SO697611
Area            0.932 ha
Tithe map – Clifton-on-Teme (1846)
211, name - Coppice, use- wood
owner – Sir Thomas Edward Winnington, bart      
occupier – Osborne William Peacey

This area of woodland forms the northern extremity of the property and lies on a west facing slope with the Sapey Brook, flowing north north-east to south south-west, at its base.  It is bisected by the access road to Hope Mill, which runs north to join the Clifton on Teme Road.  To the east of the track, in the ground sloping up towards the fields above, is an overgrown but still clearly defined quarry.

The south-eastern boundary of this wood, formed by a hedge, is of some antiquity and may well be the oldest field boundary on the property.  A projection of the course of this hedge to the south west would mark the boundary between the parishes of Lower Sapey and Clifton-on-Teme.  Although the boundary at this point now runs across an open field (5600 in Lower Sapey, 6700 in Clifton-on-Teme) it was following a field boundary on the tithe map.  To the west of the track, a large semi-circular area has begun to collapse into the brook.

Land parcel 4500

Grid ref        SO69456100
Area                        3.07 ha
Tithe map –  Sapey Pitchard (1841)
96 (part), name - Mill Field Coppice, use - wood and coppice       
owner – Sir Thomas Edward Winnington, bart      
occupier – Osborne William Peacey

98, name - Mill Pond Ashbed, use - wood and coppice                     
owner – Sir Thomas Edward Winnington, bart      
occupier – Osborne William Peacey

This woodland occupies land beside three stretches of the Sapey Brook.  First, the steep north facing slope of the south bank of the brook where it runs almost due west along the northern boundary of the property and second the east bank of the brook from the point where it turns south at the north-west corner of the property.  A third, a narrow strip runs  east from the weir and is bounded by the brook to the south and the mill leat to the north.

This woodland is now divided from the field to the south and east (5600 in Lower Sapey, 6700 in Clifton-on-Teme) by a wire fence.  Several meters to the north and west of the present fence is an old hedge line marked by coppiced hazel.  Two old wooden gateposts stand on the north-west corner of this line.  Each of the gateposts has two horseshoes driven into them to form supports for two horizontal poles, which must have formed the barrier.  From this gateway a much overgrown track led down to the west.  These two areas formed the greater part of Mill Field Coppice in 1841.

The southern part of this land parcel occupies land which in 1841 was known as Mill Pond Ashbed, bounded to the north by the mill leat and to the south by the brook.

The mill leat runs northwest-southeast for approximately three hundred metres from the sluice gates adjacent to the weir on the Sapey Brook to a point some 40 metres immediately north of the mill.  At this point the leat butt ends and a pipe runs underground to the wheel pit.  The leat and associated sluice gates is in good order, having been dredged by the previous owner.  A raised causeway flanks the entire length of the leat, which has been reinforced by the deposition of builder's rubble and other material.  The leat is heavily silted at the north western end, but is otherwise relatively clear, and is approximately 1.75 metres deep and 3 metres wide.  At the south eastern end a sluice would have allowed water to flow through a short length of brick lined culvert into a fishpond.  It has not been possible to ascertain the date of this feature, but it is possible that it is of fairly recent origin.

The mill leat looking south east towards Hope Mill, visible to the right in the background.

The sluice gate controlling the inlet of water into the sluice from the weir.

The mill dam is constructed of roughly faced, regularly coursed stone with a rubble infill.  It is approximately 3.5 metres high and 15 metres wide.  The remains of the weir are visible in front of the dam wall, but only a fragment of the original fabric survives.  Recent heavy rain has swollen the Sapey Brook to such an extent that a breach in the western bank now means that the water is no longer cascading over the dam but has cut a new channel to one side.  This recent damage has uncovered a series of waterlogged wooden stakes driven into the bed of the stream.  These may relate to an earlier phase of dam construction, and dendrochronological dating of these might provide further information.

The breach in the dam.  The tops of the row of wooden stakes are visible in the centre of the picture.

Land parcel 5789

Grid ref        SO698609
Area            0.526 ha
Tithe map – Lower Sapey 
97 (part), name - part of Mill Field, use - pasture      
owner – Sir Thomas Edward Winnington, bart      
occupier – Osborne William Peacey
96 (part), name - Mill Field Coppice, use - wood and coppice
owner – Sir Thomas Edward Winnington, bart      
occupier – Osborne William Peacey

This western part of this woodland stands on the fairly gently sloping northern bank of the brook.  The western boundary is contiguous with the previous land parcel at a point a little to the east of the dam, where the brook turns sharply back to the east.  The woodland thins towards the east and the slope becomes steeper.  The woodland forms a strip bounded by the field to the north (5600 in Lower Sapey, 6700 in Clifton-on-Teme) and the mill leat to the south.

The western part of this piece of woodland formed part of Mill Field on the tithe map and was used as pasture.  It seems therefore that this area reverted to woodland comparatively recently.  A clear lynchet or bank several meters to the north of the wire fence dividing this woodland from the field to the north indicates that another boundary existed at some period.

The eastern part was an almost detached part of Mill Field Coppice, see above.

Land parcel  6385

Grid ref        SO69656085
Area             0.129 ha
Tithe map – Lower Sapey    
100  name - Mill Gardens, use - garden        
owner – Sir Thomas Edward Winnington, bart      
occupier – Osborne William Peacey
102 (part) name - Mill Piece, use - pasture    
owner – James Seward
occupier – Benjamin Rea                   
103 name - Mill Piece Ashbed, use - coppice
owner – James Seward      
occupier – Benjamin Rea

This heterogeneous land parcel consists of three distinct areas.  The first, north of the brook was a small piece of ground to the east of the southernmost part of land parcel 4500 was Mill Garden in 1841.  This was owned by Sir Thomas Winnington and occupied by Mr Peacey in 1841, but seems likely to have been sub-let to the miller.

To the south of the brook, the bank formed part of Mill Piece, reported as pasture-land and to the east of this was Mill Piece Ashbed, a coppice.  Both of these were owned by James Seward and occupied by Benjamin Rea, who were, respectively, the owner and occupier of Hope Farm to the south-east.

A hollow trackway, on the south-eastern edge of land parcel 5277 (The old Mill Piece) runs into the south-western corner of Mill Piece Coppice and curves down towards the brook, its right hand edge formed by the coppice boundary.  The present bridle path seems to perpetuate the stretch of track where it fords the stream under the modern footbridge.

The hollow-way looking east at the point where it leaves the woodland

Non-woodland areas

The Mill: Land parcel 7384

Grid ref        SO69736085
Area             0.170 ha
Tithe map – Clifton-on-Teme        
213  House – Hope Mill and pleck
owner – James Seward      
occupier – Benjamin Rea

The building is of the 17^th century and 18^th century with modern restoration.  The Mill complex is a grade II listed building.

No miller is recorded at the mill in the apportionment, which accompanies the tithe map.  The overshot mill wheel, marked J. Wyer, 1853, is 10 feet in diameter, and obviously replaced an earlier one which was likely to have been wooden.  Much of the machinery remains and there are two in situ mill stones on the first floor.  It is marked on the 1^st and 2^nd edition OS maps as a corn mill and apparently went out of use in 1914 (Gwilliam).

Land parcel 5600 (Lower Sapey); 6700 (Clifton-on-Teme)

Grid ref        SO69736085
Area             2.227 ha
Tithe map – Clifton-on-Teme      
212 (part), name - part of Mill Ground, use – pasture
owner – James Seward      
occupier – Benjamin Rea
Lower Sapey                       
97, name - part of Mill Field, use – pasture
owner – James Seward
occupier – Benjamin Rea
96 (part), name - Mill Field Coppice, use - wood and coppice
owner – Sir Thomas Edward Winnington, bart      
occupier – Osborne William Peacey

This area forms the plateau defined by the gorge of the Sapey Brook to the north, west and south, and is currently open grassland with newly fenced partitions.  Although pasture existed here in 1841, all of the present boundaries of this field are more recent than that date.

The northern and western boundaries of the field have moved inwards by several metres along its entire length, while a new boundary has cut the field off from the mill stream leat in the south-west.

The straight eastern boundary of the field is entirely new, following the western side of the access track to Hope Mill.  This cuts through the field known as Mill Ground in 1841 and leaves the western part of it, and the parish boundary which coincided with its western boundary, cut off from the part to the east of the track, land parcel 7200.

Land parcel 7200

Grid ref        SO 69726095
Area              0.898 ha
Tithe map – Clifton-on-Teme           
212 (part), name - part of Mill Ground, use – pasture
owner – James Seward      
occupier – Benjamin Rea 

This originally formed part of the field numbered 212 0n the Clifton on Teme tithe map.  It became divided into two by the trackway which now leads to the mill. 

Conclusion

The track which crosses the Sapey Brook beneath the present footbridge curves up the right bank of the brook to form the southern boundary of land parcel 6385 before crossing as a distinct sunken way into land parcel 5277.  From here the track appears to run south towards the old Lower Sapey parish church of St Bartholomew.

The old church, dating from the early 12^th century, stands on the site of what was the original settlement of Lower Sapey.  Sapey is mentioned in a deed of Offa in 781 and in 1086 Osbern Fitz Richard held 3 hides in Sapey.  Osbern’s father, Richard Scrope, was the eponymous lord of Richard’s Castle in Herefordshire.

The field boundaries and other features on the property suggest a long history of human intervention in an originally natural woodland area, and a total utilisation of the resources of that area.

The parish boundary marks the western edge of a now vanished enclosure of great age.  Part of the hedge of this enclosure is still preserved towards the north and at the east of the property.  This enclosure may represent assarting, when the original woodland in this area was first felled in order to gain more plough-land, and may well be Saxon.

The plough-land subsequently would have expanded to occupy all the land that was not too steep to plough.  This land remained wooded by default, but was in no way an un-managed area.  The coppicing of woodland was an essential component of the medieval economy, providing building materials, fencing and fuel in the form of firewood and charcoal.  The woodland provided cover for game and pannage for pigs.  Coppicing had probably been practised here for a millennium or more before being discontinued within living memory.

Other elements in this landscape were also valuable.  Most obviously, the stream itself was a major power source, utilised by the mill.  Where structures were made of stone, this would be quarried from the nearest available source and quarries on the property would have provided stone for the mill and the dam.

The utilisation of all these components of a pre-industrial economy, wood, water and stone, together with the tracks, which allowed transport, and the fences, which protected crops and tree shoots from grazing animals, have all left evidence in this area of woodland.

Bibliography

Tithe Commissioners – Clifton on Teme Apportionment, 1845
Tithe Commissioners – Sapey Pitchard (Lower Sapey) Apportionment, 1843
Gwilliam, H, 1968        CBA Industrial Archaeology Report

Cartographic References

Tithe Map (Sapey Pitchard, 1843)
Tithe Map (Clifton on Teme, 1846)
1st Edition (1885) OS County Series – Worcestershire XXVII.5 
2^nd Edition (1909) OS County Series – Worcestershire XXVII.5 

Reporting

Unpublished Report - Hope Mill, Lower Sapey, Worcestershire: a tier two archaeological survey - Huw Sherlock and P J Pikes

This report is available at the Archaeological Data Service site

To view or download the report click here