There are a number of milling connections with the Spearing family - which have turned up following a search of the 1881 census.
There is a Mary Spearing born circa 1842 at Wedmore (unmarried) acting
as a house keeper to returned miller Edwin Wilkins at Mill House, Chapel
Allerton - very close to where Charles and Harriet Clapp lived. She is the elder
sister of Harriet Spearing (see the
Spearing family tree pdf for details).
The family of Charles Clapp and Harriet Spearing lived at Ashton House, in the hamlet of Ashton to the south of Chapel Allerton. This is a picture of the windmill at Ashton, near Chapel Allerton.
Simon
Spearing born circa 1842 at Wedmore is Harriet Spearing's elder brother. He was
a corn miller at High Ham. The mill on the left is Stembridge tower mill at High
Ham, and this was where Simon Spearing was miller. It is now owned by the National
Trust. Details
of visiting times can be found here.
Simon Spearing lived at the delightfully named "Paradise" with his wife, Mary, and their children: Mary Ann, Harriet, William (b 1871), Simon (b1874), John (b1876) and Joseph (b 1882) together with his cousin (another miller) called Frederick Harding (Spearing). In 1901 young Simon was the miller at Chapel Allerton (presumably at the Ashton mill above). Perhaps this was Simon Spearing's son (and Harriet's nephew). In 1901 Mary appears to have taken over the job of miller at High Ham, assisted by her son Joseph, then aged 18.
Here is
a picture of some graffiti which can be seen on one of the beams inside the mill
at High Ham. It clearly shows the name 'J Spearing' - could this be John or
possibly his brother Joseph?
Finally, there was a Paul Wilkins Spearing, born circa 1849 at Wedmore. He was a master miller at the steam mill at Shadwick, in the Somerset. levels. It is not clear whether the mill was a grinding mill or drainage mill. He lived there with his wife and family. Perhaps his second name, Wilkins, implies that Edwin Wilkins, retired miller of Chapel Allerton mentioned above, was related.