
Ludford Mill Weir, River Teme, Ludlow, Shropshire.
Posted by:
greysman
N 52° 21.829 W 002° 42.968
30U E 519329 N 5801542
Also known as the Horseshoe Weir from its shape.
Waymark Code: WMZ4WQ
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/09/2018
Views: 1
This Grade II listed weir is of medieval origins, built across the River Teme in order to supply a steady flow of water to Ludford Mill, C17th with earlier origins on the Southern bank, and Hockey's Mill, late C18th / early C19th on the northern bank. This latter mill building has been converted into dwellings. It was built of stone rubble with vertical coursing and was restored in 2002 by the Teme Weirs Trust.
A marble plaque on the wall alongside Old St., B4361, states:-
HORSESHOE WEIR
RESTORED MMII BY
TEME WEIRS TRUST
PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
AND HERITAGE
LOTTERY FUNDING
From the Teme Weir Trust web site:-
There is evidence that the horseshoe weir had been built by 1241, powering the Old Street mill on the Ludlow bank and two mills on the opposite bank at Ludford. This weir may have started as a straight diagonal serving just the Old Street Mill, which was then adapted to serve the Ludford mills also; or it may have been built as a single entity, reflecting considerable co-ordination and engineering skill. More:- Teme Weir Trust
On the south bank near the old mill water sluice is an Archimedian Screw hydro electricity generator, installed in April 2016, the water-flow adjustment gear can be seen across at the other side of the river. It generates some 28kWh of electricity, just short of 19,000kwh per month, and is publicly owned.
The weir spans the River Teme which forms the boundary between Ludlow on the north bank and Ludford on the south bank at this point. The easiest place to view the weir is from Old St. which runs alongside the river at this point and has a wide footpath. The weir can also be seen from Ludford Bridge but this has narrow footpaths and with traffic controlled by lights needs considerable care when getting to one of the refuges.