Each to their own!

We were in Appleby for various reasons and strangely enough it wasn’t raining, so I set off for a walk. I could have looked for birds, insects, flowers, reflections or pretty views – but no! I seem drawn to old buildings instead.

This is Bongate Mill in the Bongate or ‘Old Appleby’ part of the town. It was the corn mill for the castle, but probably provided for the whole town. It’s a substantial three-storey building and had three water wheels to turn the mill stones. A weir upstream provided the good head of water to fill the mill race. There is evidence of a mill on this site going back to the 13th century, although this one was built in 1838. The rather nice stone coronet set into the wall has a letter T in the centre, after the Earls of Thanet who were the owners of the castle at the time.
 
The weir in the picture is not the one serving the mill. No one quite knows what causes this one. It may be something to do with the ford, which is here, an alternative to the bridge! (More on the bridge here.)