By 1728 Holcombe Mill was presumed to be a cloth mill as there is a record of a William Webb, a clothier was recorded. There were three water wheels powering the mill in 1855.
Holcombe Mill is found along B4014 Avening road about a mile out of Nailsworrth.
The Purified Flock & Bedding Co Ltd was established in 1893 and manufactured ‘Holspring bedding and divans. It also produced flock for mattress fillings.
To make flock, you collect lots of rags and such like, shred them and then fluff them up after sterilizing and drying.
The main feature of the mill these days is the large chimney that towers majestically over ugly modern industrial units although there’s still a couple of old repurposed buildings on this site.
I have some old black and white images I took around 1990 that show an old building attached to the side of the chimney. To show the current state of that part the building I have re-photographed it so you have a like view.
Please excuse the rather dark sky in the first two black and white images, I was experimenting with dodging and burning in my darkroom at the time and over cooked it!
The big chimney isn’t near another old building so maybe the chimney and the building to the side of it were a separate engine or boiler room.
The first photo at the top was taken from the woods on the other side of the road in October 2015, the two black and white ones were taken in about 1990 and the others in Feb 2000.