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Lodgemore Mill occupies the site of two earlier fulling mills (Merrets Mill and Nether Latemores Mill), which were both owned by the Beard family from 1675 and which were merged by a later owner, Richard Cooke in 1749. Merrets Mill had been in use since c.1560, but in 1608, Nether Latemores Mill was said to have even earlier origins.
Lodgemore Mill changed hands frequently in the 19th century, until it was bought in 1866 by Josiah Greathead Strachan. A limited company, Strachan & Co. was formed in 1890. The firm later joined forces with Messrs. Hunt & Winterbotham, and William Playne & Co. of Cam and Longfords Mills, as Winterbotham, Strachan and Playne. In 1971, Lodgemore and Cam mills were still being worked together to make uniform and billiard cloth.
The mill buildings were damaged by fires in 1802, 1811 and 1871. The mill buildings that exist today were built in 1875, to the designs of James Ferrabee, a local engineer. They are of three storeys, in red, blue and yellow brick, and incorporate 17th century buildings that had survived the fires. In 1923, a low brick loom shed was designed by Falconer, Baker & Campbell.
The office block, which was formerly the mill owner's house, has an early-to-mid 18th century stone front of three storeys and ten bays. The doorway has Ionic columns and a segmental pediment, and the windows have moulded stone surrounds which are typical of their date. Inside, the Board Room has a splendid Palladian chimneypiece.
The mill is still used for cloth manufacture
IThe nearby Clothiers' Arms Inn was designed in 1909 by P.R. Morley Horder for Stroud Brewery.
From January 2016, this website is managed by Stroud Local History Society
Revised 2018 EMW
