MEM24834 - Post-medieval water wheel at Voley Farm (Monument)

The site included an overshot water wheel, which was in operable condition until after World War Two. The internal machinery associated with this was removed during the conversion of the associated farm buildings in the early 1990s. A leat that served the wheel via a storage pond is still visible on satellite images. [1] A water course is shown on 2018 MasterMap data approaching the farmstead from the east, running along the northern side of the site (along the road) and then heading south once it had cleared the western end of the farmstead, running into the river below. It seems likely that this was the leat for the water wheel. [2] The leat is shown on the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map for the site, although it is unlabelled. It is possible that the possible horse engine attached to the farm buildings at SS 6418 4593 may have been providing the main power source for farm machinery by this time (see MEM23097). It is not clear if this was located in the same building as the water wheel machinery. [3,4]