Moddeshall Hydropower

The Scotch Brook Valley, and its tributary The Moddeshall

Valley proper, convey brisk and reliable watercourses that

for centuries supported twelve traditional watermills.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries most of these mills

were used to grind animal bones and flint to supply the

Longton fine bone china industry.

Latterly, the uppermost mill generated electricity to light

the hamlet of Moddeshall.

James R Warren investigates the hydraulics and hydrological

science of this small English catchment to consider its revival

for the generation of small-scale hydro-electricity supply.

Traditional watermill scholarship and craft is re-evaluated in

terms of the physics of flowing water.

Contains text, photographs, tabulations, engineering equations and geometrical diagrams.