SIR - So Graham Hoyle thinks the Industrial Revolution was powered by water (T&A, November 21). Just goes to show how a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
Water mills were mainly used to turn millstones to grind grain. Not exactly heavy machinery, unless of course you attempted to turn the stones manually!
The "mills" that came along later were so called because they used similar methods, i.e. a single turning shaft to run the machinery.
However, that is where the similarity ended. These new mills were powered by steam, which in turn was raised by the burning of coal, a fossil fuel producing huge amounts of CO2 and soot (remember Bradford's black buildings?).
To provide power for every home in a town would require each and every home to have their very own mill race. A practical solution?
Simon Robertshaw, Penrose Drive, Great Horton
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