Baptist Mills an area of the city ofBristol, England. The name derives from the former mills which stood in that area. The area is centred on theRiver Frome at Junction 3 of theM32 Motorway.[1] Construction of the motorway divided the neighbourhood such that parts west of the road are now often considered to be part ofSt Werburghs,[2][3] while parts to the east are often described as being inEaston.[4]
The solid geology of Baptist Mills comprisesTriassic Redcliffe Sandstone, which is overlain by superficial deposits ofQuaternaryalluvium in the floodplain of the Horfield Brook and the River Frome.[5]
Baptist Mills is so named from the mills that once stood there. A grist (flour) mill is recorded in this area in a document written in 1470, and again in 1610, when they are marked on Chester and Master's Map of Kingswood.[6]
The mills were converted tobrass mills by the Bristol Brass Company, formed in 1702 byAbraham Darby, Edward lloyd, John Andrews, and Arthur Thomas. In 1706, further partners were admitted, the business becoming an early unincorporatedjoint stock company with a capital of £8000. While there, Darby recruited skilled 'Dutchmen' to operate a brass battery with trip hammers. He may also have recruited men skilled in sandmoulding as opposed to the loam moulding hitherto used in England. Darby was the active partner in the business, but later withdrew to concentrate on his newironfounding business atCoalbrookdale.[7]
Brass production at the Baptist Mills Brass Works ceased in 1814, and in 1839 parts of the former brass works were acquired Joseph and James White, who established a factory manufacturing "Egyptian Black" pottery,[8]Rockingham teapots and clay tobacco pipes. By 1861 the business was known as the Phoenix Pottery. The pottery closed at some point after 1891.[9]
The last remains of the brass works were destroyed when Junction 3 of the M32 Motorway was constructed in the early 1970s. However, slag blocks made from waste from the works can be found in the area.[1]
51°27′59″N2°34′28″W / 51.4665°N 2.5745°W /51.4665; -2.5745
