Twenty years ago a man walking his dog near the former Fuller's Earth works noticed some pieces of paper blowing in the wind.

These proved to be documents of the Fullers' Earth Union which children had found in the loft above the former office and which they had been using to light fires.

The dog walker informed the Museum of Bath at Work and in the following days some 100,000 documents consisting of letters, time cards and plans were recovered and sorted.

So begins Neil Macmillen's introduction to his book A History Of The Fuller's Earth Mining Industry Around Bath which he has written with Mike Chapman.

Next Wednesday afternoon, May 27, he will give a talk about it to the Good Companions, which is open to anyone who is interested.

The Combe Hay mine closed on February 29 1980, bringing to an end almost 100 years of the industry in the Bath area.

In its heyday there were numerous sites in an area stretching from Rush Hill to Wellow and Odd Down to Tucking Mill at Midford.

The works at Tucking Mill now lie beneath the reservoir, but some sad rusting remains of the old industry at Combe Down still stand as a reminder of this once thriving industry.

Much of this site is now used to recycle topsoil and aggregates and one part has become the Odd Down park and ride.

Next time you park your car there spare a thought for some of the many local characters who once worked in the industry – the very last chapter in Neil's book contains some fascinating biographical notes of the managers and workmen, dating back to the 19th century, with details of where they lived and, in some cases, what their jobs entailed.

Neil has produced a thoroughly fascinating account of this piece of Bath's industrial history and the book is plentifully illustrated with a wealth of photographs, maps and diagrams.

There's a chapter on the early history of Fuller's Earth when, he says, it would have been discovered by the Romans and used for cleaning cloths. in the days before soaps and detergents.

In later years numerous other uses were discovered. At one time it was even mixed with radioactive water at the Royal Mineral Water Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases and used to treat arthritis and rheumatism.

After the Second World War nurses applied it to their patients as a soothing mud pack – at one stage the hospital used up to half a ton of mixed fuller's earth a day.

There are chapters on the geology of the area and on the pioneers in Horsecombe Vale and at Tucking Mill, where various new works were developed between 1883 and 1945,

Odd Down's windmill – reputed to be the largest in the UK with its vanes some 50-60ft in diameter and painted red white and blue – gets a chapter despite its short life.

The windmill arrived in 1902 and was used to drive a grinding mill but by 1904 it had burnt down.

The Bath Chronicle of the time reported: "The residents of Odd Down and frequentors of the main road to Radstock and Wells have lost a familiar and prominent landmark. Standing as it did on one of the highest and barest parts of the Odd Down plateau it was especially conspicuous . . ."

Another chapter considers the conditions below ground where the air was often very bad, particularly during thundery weather, and there's a fascinating account of transport via road, rail and canal illustrated by some fascinating old photographs.

This is a book that will appeal to many readers covering as it does all aspects of a lost industry from the technical specifications to snippets of social history.

A History Of The Fuller's Earth Mining Industry Around Bath, by Neil MacMillen with Mike Chapman, is published by Lightmoor Press at £15. Neil's talk to the Good Companions takes place on Wednesday, May 27 at the St Philip & St James Institute, Bath, from 2.30pm to 4pm. Call Edgar Evans on 01225 832107 for more details.

Jackie Chappell