Sluice and shaft at Moor Pond Wood, Papplewick

Image: © Chris Taken: 1 Sep 2012

http://moorpond.papplewick.org/index.html ; http://moorpond.papplewick.org/map_alt.html ; See: http://moorpond.papplewick.org/documents/audio-script.pdf The sluice is marked as "Post 12" in the documents above. The sluice is a feature of a mill created by George Robinson, an 18th-19th century businessman. Hailing from Scotland, he eventually settled in the Bulwell area in 1738. He was in the cotton industry around the time when cotton was starting to supersede the linen industry. Along the valley of the River Leen in the Linby and Papplewick parishes he created several mills and houses for the workers. Since the mills closed in the 1820s all the embankments in the project area have been planted with oak and ash woodland. Behind the sluice is Moor Pond. The sluice was discovered (among the trees) and excavated in 2007. It controlled the amount of water going into Moor Pond from the moor (which is the name given to level ground on the other side of the road). Behind the stonework is a brick-lined shaft 4m deep (Image). Looking down through the grill (behind the top fence), you can see the slot that contained the sluice. The shaft is an unusual oval shape.

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