Shadow Dragon

Tonedale Mills

December 2025 | England | Extant

A large Georgian textile mill in the middle of Somerset.

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HISTORY: Tonedale Mills have their origins in 1790 when the Fox family of nearby Taunton opened the current works on the outskirts of Wellington, in a series of buildings known as ‘The Old Flour Mills’. The company behind the mills was renamed Fox Brothers in 1826 and production was upscaled. The site comprises of buildings ranging from the Georgian era to the Victorian era to the early 20th century – the older grey stone mills on the eastern part of the site are the oldest, with the tall red sandstone fulling mill (the most distinctive part) being Georgian, and the rest of the buildings are Victorian and 20th century.

The mills are noted for retaining remnants of each type of power – water, steam and electricity. There are remains of water wheels, water turbines, steam turbines, steam engines and generators. Which is quite unusual and interesting! At its peak, Tonedale Mills employed 3,600 people and produced 21,300ft (6,500m) of material each day. Tonedale became the production site of ‘Taunton Serge’, and was later where the Fox Brothers developed a khaki dye for military clothing worn by British soldiers during the Second Boer War. The mill went into a period of decline after the Second World War, and eventually closed in the 1980s after demand had shifted to cheaper material produced in third world countries outpaced demand for quality material from the works. The mill has since lain derelict, with buildings gradually collapsing.

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THE EXPLORE: I rocked up at the mills on a freezing cold December morning, which was made worse by the fact that it was bucketing down with rain. I was debating whether or not I should go in because of how wet and nasty the weather was, but, I was there. I wasn’t about to waste petrol. So, I donned my holed urbex coat and off I went. I will be honest, I was expect more of the site, but frankly given how ruined some parts were, I was glad to see the steam engines and weaving machines. Those were definitely the highlights. I will say, the site is INCREDIBLY dangerous now. Floors are seriously rotten with enormous drops under them. Be careful if you want to explore this place. Enjoy the photos!