Headley Water 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 ...
used for the milling of
flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
and situated near the village of
Headley Headley may refer to:
Places
* Headley, Basingstoke and Deane in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley
* Headley, East Hampshire
** Headley Grange, Hampshire
* Headley, Surrey
Other uses
* Headley (surname)
* Baron Headley, a title in t ...
on the outskirts of the village of
Lindford in the east of the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. It is likely that there was a mill on this site in 1086 at the time of 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 ...
. The west end of the current mill is considered to date from the 16th Century, whilst the central section is older. The mill is powered by the south branch of upper reaches of the
River Wey
The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Once combined the f ...
and is the last commercially productive water mill in Hampshire.
The mill with its adjoining house is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
The mill has four pairs of stones, three for grinding flour and one for grinding barley or oats for animal feed. Two pairs of stones can be driven by the
breast shot wheel at any one time.
See also
*
List of watermills in the United Kingdom
The use of water power in Britain was at its peak just before the Industrial Revolution. The need for power was great and steam power had not yet become established. It is estimated that at this time there were well in excess of ten thousand waterm ...
*
Mills on the River Wey and its tributaries
Many watermills lined the banks of the River Wey, England, from the 17th century due to the river's ability to provide a reliable, year-round flow of water. These mills chiefly ground wheat, often referred to as corn, for flour and oats for anim ...
References
External links
Hampshire Mills Group: Headley Mill
Watermills in Hampshire
Watermills mentioned in the Domesday Book
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