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This smelt mill is located on the banks
of the river Wharfe opposite Linton Church and near to a major cave
resurgence Brow Well. The mill was built in 1605 with one ore hearth,
later two more were added. A fire in 1774 destroyed the front of the
mill which was then rebuilt. Ore from the Grassington mines was smelted
here because the mill could operate all year round thanks to Brow Well
which did not dry up in summer or freeze in winter and so proved to
be a reliable water supply for the water wheels which powered the hearth
bellows. The mill operated for nearly 200 years until the Cupola mill
was built on Grassington Moor. Later a small cotton mill used the sites
water supply, this has now been converted into a house. The reconstruction
drawing is based on an archaeological survey of the site and suggests
how the mill may have looked.
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