Brinkburn Mill is a

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

located near

Rothbury Rothbury is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet. It is northwest of Morpeth, Northumberland, Morpeth and of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2001 Ce ...

, in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. It once formed part of the precincts of

Brinkburn Priory Brinkburn Priory is a former monastery built, starting in the 12th century, on a bend of the River Coquet, about east of Rothbury, Northumberland, England. The priory church survived the dissolution of the monasteries because it was also ...

and was constructed in around 1800 on the site of a former

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

mill. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the priory, and its mill, were owned by Fenwicks of Northumberland until 1792, when the priory was sold to Joseph Hetherington. It was inherited by his niece and her husband, Major Richard Hodgson, in 1809, and the mill appears to have been rebuilt, along with Brinkburn House, shortly thereafter. The mill appears in a painting by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

in about 1830, depicted as tumble-down building with a thatched roof. By 1860 the mill had been extended and re-roofed, and partly restyled to appear more attractive as viewed from the house. By 1896 the northern part of the mill had been turned into a small cottage, and by 1920 the mill itself had fallen out of use. The water wheel was used to power an

electric generator In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas ...

for a while in the 1930s, before the building fell empty for a number of years. The

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...

bought the mill in 1990 and undertook a full restoration so that it is available to rent as holiday accommodation.

References

External links

Landmark Trust WebsiteLandmark Trust history sheet for Brinkburn Mill
{{coord, 55.278629, -1.816869, format=dms, type:landmark, display=title Landmark Trust properties in England History of Northumberland Buildings and structures in Northumberland