The Owl and the Windmill

The Owl’s Head Work was a Coal Work shown in a map of Coal Claims called ‘Mr Player’s Manors’ dated 1779. – It covers an area bounded by Stradbrook, Syston Brook and Player’s Manor House at Bromley Heath / Downend. - The only source for this map today is H. T. Ellacombe’s ‘History of the Parish of Bitton’ dated 1881. The original map was over 100 yrs old when the printer made his engravings and the book is now 130 yrs old.

    The maps are folded in the back of Ellacombe’s book. Most copies are now in poor condition.

A recent OCR reprint does not contain them.

So it is from doubts of the accuracy of information that searchers for the Owl’s Head have for years despaired of finding its location.

However the simple mathematical idea of ‘similar triangles’ [Not Scaling] coupled with the availability of early O.S. Maps in digital form plus aerial photography and satellite imaging provides us today with a comprehensive toolbox to crack the ancient puzzles.

  Batcheller’s Winding-House, Cockroad.

Three such works are shown by a small icon: -     

and I believe this is what is represented
 by the icons in the map: - 

A small pit winding-house

A Boulton & Watt Double-Acting steam engine is believed to have been the power-plant.”,

I have found a spot at the site of Mounthill Brickworks [now playing-fields] Court Rd. Kingswood that I am sure is the true site of the Owl’s Head Work.

Windmill near Mounthill.

It was here at least as far back as 1556 when the Miller of Hanham was in court for Bribery or Corruption.

The Court was probably held at Barr’s Court.

The Mill is in John Norden’s map of

Kingswood Chase of 1610.

 This map is also in Ellacombe’s book and repeated in a

  late print of Rev. A. Braine’s ‘History of Kingswood Forest’.

  Many copies of this book are now available in local libraries.

A copy of the colour handout with details of the investigation is available for,  postage stamps to the value of about £3.00  E mail for further details.

It is hoped that a new booklet of recent discoveries will be produced soon. 

                        R.J.Williams.