This cog wheel was unearthed in 1991. It was refurbished by the Trust, who in 1982 saved and restored the weir.
When working this wheel was turned by a shaft which came directly from the water wheel of the mill. it was set on this plinth by Persimmons Homes PLC on 26-2-93 to preserve part of the history of Wetherby
The weir, rooted in Roman times, was saved after a severe winter in 1981, caused part to collapse. Ken Bennett, treasurer of the Weir Preservation Trust since its inception says: Neither the authorities nor local landowners wanted to know so a group of civic-minded people got together and formed a charitable trust. We raised £30,000 in three months and repaired the hole and the salmon steps, and eventually restored the entire thing, which set off the whole riverside project there.
The army of volunteers who helped reconstruct the weir kept going. ‘We rebuilt all the riverside walls, did terracing, and made picnic areas,’ Ken continues. ‘And every time we asked for money for projects we got more than we needed. Then we decided to mark the millennium by building a bandstand by the river and raised £60,000 in eight weeks – if you have a worthwhile project here Wetherby people will support it.’
Click on any of the plaques below to see more detail.