Cogglesford Mill (sometimes referred to as Coggesford) is a Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

working

watermill 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 of ...

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington, Lincolnshire, ...

, Lincolnshire. It is possibly the last working

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

's Mill in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Location

The mill sits to the north of Sleaford on banks of

River Slea The River Slea is a tributary of the River Witham, in Lincolnshire, England. In 1872 the river was described as "a never-ending source of pure water", and was a trout river renowned throughout the East coast of England. But in the late 1960s, t ...

. The ford from which the mill takes its name is where the

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

, now called

Mareham Lane Mareham Lane is an unclassified road between Graby and Sleaford in Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately long. The Roman Road For most of its length Mareham Lane follows the route of a minor Roman road, and the name is also used for that Ro ...

, crossed the Slea. The original crossing, no longer extant, is a few hundred yards downstream of the mill, close to the current footbridge.

History

There is archaeological evidence of a Saxon mill on the site and records in the

Domesday book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of later mills; the present redbrick structure dates to the mid to late 18th century, with alterations from the 19th century. There were many other mills along the river at various times. During the construction of the

Sleaford Navigation The Sleaford Navigation was a 12.5 mile (20.1 km) canalisation of the River Slea in Lincolnshire, England, which opened in 1794. It ran from a junction with the River Witham, near Chapel Hill to the town of Sleaford through seven locks, ...

, in the 1790s, locks were provided at each of the mills to maintain the necessary head of water. After the navigation closed and as the locks fell into disrepair they were replaced by weirs. The weir at Cogglesford is particularly elaborate, having to maintain the head of this still working mill. Cogglesford mill (including the

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mi ...

and bridge) was assigned a listed status on 20 July 1973. The mill is open to the public 7 days a week during the summer and

stoneground flour Stoneground flour is whole grain flour produced by the traditional process of grinding grain between two millstones. This is in contrast to mass-produced flours which are generally produced using rollers. The process leaves the wheatgerm more intact ...

is milled there and sold in the shop.

Gallery

References

External links

{{Commons category, Cogglesford mill
Cogglesford Mill - official siteVirtual tour of the millSleaford Navigation Trust
Watermills in Lincolnshire Grade II listed buildings in Lincolnshire Grade II listed industrial buildings Museums in Lincolnshire Mill museums in England Industrial archaeological sites in England Grade II listed watermills Sleaford

Location

History

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links