History
The river has a long history of improvements to facilitate navigation from Bridgwater to Taunton, and has also been used to power mills along its length. These two objectives are often antagonistic, and this has been the case on the River Tone.
The earliest known record of improvements to the river is recorded in a document of 1325 from the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral, where it was proposed to widen the river between Ham Mill and a new mill which was to be built at Knapp. The Dean and Chapter owned the river as far as Athelney weir, which was presumably a fish weir, as the river was an important source of fish for the local population. Records from 1494 record the intent to build a new mill at North Curry, which was operational in 1504, and caused flooding in 1505, resulting in the Bishop of Winchester having to complain to the Dean and Chapter of Wells. There is also mention of boats using the river at this time, as their use was restricted by the construction of the new mill at Ham.
Read more about this topic: River Tone
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