Dawe's Twineworks

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Dawe's Twineworks

Enjoy the only surviving Victorian rural twineworks with its original machinery.

27/05/2026

🔊We are looking for a Treasurer to support the Twineworks.

This is a volunteer role which will involve:
🟢 Annual report to the Charity Commission
🟢 Managing bank and utility accounts
🟢 Reporting at meetings

This is a fantastic opportunity to support local heritage.

If you want to learn more, please email: [email protected]

22/04/2026

And Finally.......
The Cider Press is finished. 120 man-hours of volunteer effort from 'the press gang'. And thank you to the Association for Industrial Archaeology for funding the materials and tools.
We think it's 150 years old. All ready now for this year's harvest.

14/04/2026

⛵️We are getting ready for our next Open Day on Saturday 25th April.

Join us at 2:30pm for the grand finale of our 2026 Winter Talks, “Nelson’s Navy" with David Curson.

David will be taking us beyond the legend of Horatio Nelson to explore the gritty, fascinating reality of the Royal Navy.

From how those massive ships were built to the truth about press gangs, "ship’s biscuit" diets, and life on the high seas, it’s going to be a broad and brilliant overview of life afloat.

Beyond the talk, there is plenty to do:

⚙️ See our unique twineworks machinery in action.

🛠️ Explore the history of Dawe’s and our local heritage.

🍰 Coffee and cake: no visit to Dawe's is complete without a treat!

📅 WHEN: Saturday 25th April
10am – 4pm
(Talk at 2:30pm)

Come for the history, stay for the cake. We’ll see you there!

31/03/2026

Another good day at the Twineworks - for the Press Gang.
With the big square holes cut all the way through our new oak, we moved on to attach the axles and wheels and got ourselves a go-cart.
Then, the big question - would the big screw posts fit down the holes? Answer yes, so we now have a press once again.
Next, we have to repair and refit the apple crusher.

29/03/2026

ANOTHER GOOD DAY AT DAWE'S
Sunny for most of our March Open Day and full house of interested people for our third 2026 Winter Talk. We were delighted to welcome back Vicky Putler of The Flax Project to talk about this 'most useful' plant and to demonstrate what happens to it after harvesting. Before our very eyes she transformed a bundle of dead dried stalks (grown at Dawe's) into a 'lock of flaxen hair'.
Lots of audience participation as others tried breaking, hackling and scutching.
We can still learn without Powerpoint!
Thank you very much Vicky

18/03/2026

🌿 Open Day at Dawe's Twineworks!

Join us Saturday 28th for a celebration of local craft, history, and hear about the amazing journey of flax.

When: Saturday, 28th March
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

📸 We’re sharing some lovely memories of harvesting the Dawe's Twineworks flax plot! These were taken back in July, as part of the Od Arts Festival, where the crop was planted as part of the Growing Futures project.

🌾Special Guest:
To bring the story full circle, Vicky Putler (The Flax Project) will be joining us for a talk at 14:30.

Vicky will be sharing her expertise and may even demonstrate the traditional processes of extracting fibres and spinning yarn. It’s a rare chance to see how the very plants we harvested are transformed into textile.

We can't wait to see you there!

12/03/2026

⛵️Dawe's Legacy

Did you know that Dawe's, a twine manufacturing company, closed its doors in 1968? Recently, two of our volunteers Chris and Val stumbled upon a treasure trove of history thanks to Stuart Dawe, who generously donated three ledgers to the Somerset Heritage Centre in Taunton.

After a bit of digging, they found these fascinating pieces cataloged under 'Millbrook'; the original name of the works!

Here’s some of the discoveries:
- Petty Cash Ledger (1900 - 1914)
- Bought Ledger (1900 - 1914)
- A unique handwritten book detailing 46 different types of twine, complete with recipes!
- An intriguing brass stencil (7 x 10 inches) from Israel Rendell, a flax merchant and manufacturer.

There’s more:
- Dawe's produced 46 different twines.
- Before WWI, their wage bill was about £15/week (averaging 75p per employee).
- They spent roughly £100/year on railways.
- In 1913, their assets were valued at £2,569, with a turnover of £6,426 - that’s about £1 million today.
- The value of buildings, plant, and machinery was around £1,000 in 1900/01.
- The brass stencil dates back to before 1877, when Israel Rendell owned the site.

Come learn more at our next open day on Saturday 28th March (10-4).

We will also host a special talk at 14:30 too, more on that coming soon.

10/03/2026

🍏Cider Press Update

Exciting progress on our latest project! Recently, we tackled the impressive task of chainsawing a massive new piece of oak.

With the help of our dedicated volunteer, Dave, we've made significant strides in creating the two square holes for the main screw-posts.

Here's what we've accomplished so far:

Hole specifications: We're cutting 65mm square holes through an impressive 340mm of solid oak.
Innovative Tools: Utilising a specially designed guide jig and some very long auger bits, we drilled from both sides and successfully met in the middle.
Progress Update: We’ve drilled and chiselled about 120mm of the total 340mm to the correct size.

To ensure precision, we've crafted a square piece of wood to check the holes.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this exciting journey! 🍎

13/02/2026

⛵️Join us at Dawe’s Twineworks next Open Day!

📅 Saturday 28th February
🕦 10-4
🚂 At 14:30 a special talk on Bridport Railway.

What’s new this month?

🏆Come see our 4 brand-new placemats in the Visitor Centre! One highlights our connection to the America's Cup, while the others feature interesting material donated by the family of Reg Warr.

🍏Cider Press Progress: Inspect the "rotten vs. ready" as we show off the salvaged ironwork and the new oak chassis. Check out the custom jig we’ve built to drill through 340mm of solid oak!

☕🍰 The Classics: Engines running, guided tours, and, as always, fresh coffee and homemade cake.

⛵️ ⛵️After a fascinating dive into the history of Health & Safety over the last 200 years in January (thanks to everyone who braved the rain!), our 2026 Winter Talks programme returns in February, when Richard Sims presents on “The Bridport Railway", and in March Vicky Putler will talk on Flax. Our final talk of the season will be on 25th April by David Curson on ‘Nelson’s Navy’.

22/01/2026

Cider progress - before, between and then despite the rain!

Barry, Chris, Chris, Dave and David gathered this morning to undertake the next stage of the cider press restoration. This was to complete the dismantling of the press and the removal of all the components - axles, wheels and the upper part of the press, from the rotten chassis.
The big tripod was heavier than I recall from 10 years ago.....
We found that the part around the rear screw post was in very poor condition, and had been repaired several times before. We think the press is at least 150 years old.
It's good to report that we achieved all we hoped; it all went to plan (except for the rain), no-one got hurt and we managed to remove all the very old nuts and bolts and parts intact.
The next stage, when we have some dry weather, is to carefully measure the old chassis and then mark out and cut the new oak beam. The we have to cut two square holes 67mm across and 340 mm deep for the big screw posts.
Thank you not only to our volunteers but also to the Association for Industrial Archaeology whose grant for 'restoration of small machinery' makes this possible.

Address

94A High Street
West Coker
BA229AU

Telephone

01935 862938

Website

http://www.westcoker.net/home-page/ropewalk/

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