Cloth-House Ford, Lincomb

by H W Gwilliam

Lincomb Weir is built on the side of the Cloth-house Ford. At the Admiralty Inquiry of 1847 in the Severn navigation, Edward Bradley, (lock keeper at Diglis and 20 years a trowman), gave evidence that the Cloth-house Ford was the worst obstruction in that part of the river: ‘We could only load 3 to 4 tons at low water. The average draught was only 21 inches.’ Today there are only the approach roads to the ford to be seen, for the construction of the lock, which was built on dry land and a new cut made, drastically altered the river bank here.

On the east bank, an old deep lane leads from Titton to the river, still with a cave,well out of flood’s way, for travellers to shelter in. On the west bank, the ground has been so disturbed as to obliterate the path across the flood meadow. In one great flood in 1847, seven feet of silt was deposited throughout the region. Across the meadow lies Lawford, (Lower Ford) and, from there, good roads lead to Astley.

Cloth-house Ford gets its name from the fulling mills on Titton Brook. These mills were important to the cloth trade of the City of Worcester for centuries, certainly as far back as 1302. A boat, known as the Cloth-house Boat, regularly took cloth from the City looms to the fulling mills of Titton. The importance of these mills was so generally recognised that, as 1644, the height of the Great Civil War, army commanders were forbidden to plunder the Titton fulling mills.

Copyright © H W Gwilliam 1982



Other pages in WHE

Severn Ferries and Fords in Worcestershire Worcestershire History Encyclopaedia