In 2023 Wessex Archaeology was asked by Galliard Homes as part of their Land at St Catherines Bristol development, to look at a site in the heart of Bedminster, between Dalby Avenue and East Street. Archaeologist, Vix Hughes, led the team who excavated the site.

A team of Wessex Archaeologists went to the site of the former St Catherine’s Place shopping centre to explore the remains of the old Bedminster mill that appears on town maps until c.1885, when it vanishes. 

It’s really unusual to dig this kind of mill site, as normally they are completely demolished and all you’re left with is the very base of the wheel pit. But, the Bedminster mill had lots of surviving walls which has made it interesting to explore.  The mill was constructed at this location to use water channelled from the nearby River Malago to power the water wheel. Next to the mill, water could be pooled, ready to enter the wheel in a channel called a mill race.

While excavating, they found a large amount of material that appeared to have been dumped along the river’s edge to stabilise the ground. The dumped material included pottery and glass production waste and dated to 1730-1790. These were industries that Bristolians were involved in at the time. This date matches up with an earlier plan dated to the late 18th century, and documentary sources indicate the mill was in place by 1712. From 1828 it is marked on all the town plans.

Now, this area of Bedminster is seeing a new phase of regeneration that echoes this transformation. Our work uncovering the story of the Bedminster Mill continues, as our specialists undertake more research into the remains we uncovered.

Watch the Bedminster mill episode of Digging for Britain on BBC iPlayer. 

Read the full blog article by Vix Hughes here: Bristol’s Bedminster Mill: Unearthing 170 years of technological ingenuity and urban transformation | Wessex Archaeology