 With access to ample supplies of wood in the Quantock Hills, the earliest records of paper making in the community date back to 1652.In the 15th century, a flour mill had been established in the town near the mouth of the Washford River, by the Fulford and Hadley families.Taken over by Sir John Wyndham in 1616, he was keen to develop further milling facilities on his lands in the town.