It was Elizabeth Puttock who started a laundry using local women hand washing and boiling in the same way as at home to service the very many large houses of the gentry and the hotels that catered to the followers of hunting and shooting pursuits. This grew to take over more of the building and by the time it was sold to Rodney Peake and his sister Maria in 1935 the joinery was no longer part of the enterprise.

Lynton Flood

At the time of the Lynton flood disaster in 1952 the building fortunately suffered no serious damage, but one of the laundry vans was washed away and fetched up at the weir of the old electricity station.

Rodney Peake and his sister are still fondly remembered by many people today. Local and afar customers and several of the present staff remember them as utterly charming. It was he who modenised and mechanised the laundry and installed the dry cleaning machine.

After his death his sister sold the business to Dennis Underhill in 1977 and the present owners, returning from work abroad (again mainly on the African continent) bought it from him on his retirement in 1987.

Over the years the customer base has changed remarkably little, rather less domestic laundry, somewhat more industrial but the catchment area has increased dramatically and Dulverton Laundry vans can be seen as far afield as North Cornwall and Dorset!

There was probably a woollen milling industry at Duvlerton since mediaeval times but the present building is about 200 years old. At one time it manufactured crepe, which was replaced by lace. As the woollen industry declined the building eventually became a joinery works owned by the Puttock family, one of the established Dulverton families. Water power was still used until comparatively modern times. At one time four mills used the leat - Paper Mill, Town Mills (double breast wheels, hence the plural) for flour and feed, the present laundry and Lower Mill, just below it, a "Grist Mill".