There was a watermill on the site at the time of the Domesday Book[4] and it is the last surviving of over 30 mills which were once on this stretch of the Avon.

[5][6] Local brass making was initiated in Bristol around 1700 by the family of Abraham Darby who later moved upstream because of the better water supply at Saltford and Keynsham.

[7] The site includes a battery mill which was used for hollowing out brass sheet to make pans, bowls and vats, some of which are on display.

There is also a complete annealing furnace, one of four originally installed, which were used to heat the brass to reduce the likelihood of it cracking while it was being worked.

[1] In 1995 it was restored and is now supported by a group of volunteers in conjunction with English Heritage and the owners Bath and North East Somerset Council.