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Houghton Mill is a water mill located on the
Mills have been recorded here since 974. The mill was owned by the nearby Ramsey Abbey from its foundation. The abbey's tenants were under an obligation to have their wheat ground in the mill and part of the flour was withheld as payment by the miller. When in 1500 the Abbot diverted the river water in order to supply the mill with sufficient power, the neighbouring village was flooded. The villagers rose up in protest, and fifteen years later they were granted permission to change the course of the water in case of an emergency.
At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, ownership of the mill reverted to the Crown. The present mill replaces one burnt down in the 17th century.
The best-known miller was the
Houghton Mill information at the National Trust
*{{NHLE , num=1128403 National Trust properties in Cambridgeshire Tourist attractions in Cambridgeshire Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridgeshire Watermills in Cambridgeshire Museums in Cambridgeshire Mill museums in England Youth hostels in England and Wales
Houghton Mill is a water mill located on the Great Ouse
The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the W ...
in the village of Houghton Houghton may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide
* Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland
* Houghton Island (Queensland)
Canada
*Houghton Township, ...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, 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 ...
. It is a National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
property and 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 Ir ...
.
History
Mills have been recorded here since 974. The mill was owned by the nearby Ramsey Abbey from its foundation. The abbey's tenants were under an obligation to have their wheat ground in the mill and part of the flour was withheld as payment by the miller. When in 1500 the Abbot diverted the river water in order to supply the mill with sufficient power, the neighbouring village was flooded. The villagers rose up in protest, and fifteen years later they were granted permission to change the course of the water in case of an emergency.
At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, ownership of the mill reverted to the Crown. The present mill replaces one burnt down in the 17th century.
The best-known miller was the nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
Potto Brown (1797–1871), a wealthy man who was so pious that he carried his ledgers to family prayer meetings in order to discuss with his Maker debts owed him. After his death, a bronze bust of him was erected in Houghton.
The present building
Although there has been a mill on this site for most of Houghton's history, the original mill site (certainly in the time of the Domesday book) was approximately 0.4 miles along the river towards Huntingdon. The original mill pond is still there but now appears to be a natural backwater. The present building was probably built in the 17th century, and extended in the 19th century. It consists of three storeys and attics. the building is part brick, part timber-framed and weather-boarded. In the 1930s, the mill was decommissioned. Local residents bought the building and it was given to the National Trust. From 1935 to 1983, the mill was in use as ayouth hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...
, and was one of the few YHA establishments where smoking was forbidden because of fire hazard.
In 1999, the National Trust put in new millstones. Flour is still being milled, and the building is now a tourist attraction, with a camping site nearby.
See also
* Christopher BidenReferences
External links
Houghton Mill information at the National Trust
*{{NHLE , num=1128403 National Trust properties in Cambridgeshire Tourist attractions in Cambridgeshire Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridgeshire Watermills in Cambridgeshire Museums in Cambridgeshire Mill museums in England Youth hostels in England and Wales