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The River Beult ( ) is a
tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance of . ...
in
South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, ...
.


Course

The Beult has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through
Headcorn Headcorn is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone. The village is 8 mi (13 km) southeast of Maidstone, on the A274 road to ...
. At Hunton, above
Yalding Yalding is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The village is situated south west of Maidstone at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult join the River Medway. At the 2001 census, the parish, which incl ...
, it is joined by the major stream of the
River Teise The River Teise ( , ) is a tributary of the River Medway in Kent, England. Course The source of the Teise is in Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells. From there the river flows eastwards past Bayham Abbey and then through Lamberhurst. downstr ...
. Town bridge lies from Allington, it is the longest mediaeval bridge in Kent. The river enters the Medway at Yalding. The River Beult is crossed by the railway between Headcorn and Staplehurst. The bridge was the scene of the
Staplehurst rail crash The Staplehurst rail crash was a derailment at Staplehurst, Kent, on 9 June 1865 at 3:13 pm. The South Eastern Railway (UK), South Eastern Railway Folkestone to London boat train derailed while crossing a viaduct where a length of track had ...
in 1865 in which
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
was involved.Yalding Chronology
/ref> The River Beult was subject to a Land Drainage Improvement Scheme in the 1930s. This led to the river being widened, deepened and straightened from Smarden to Yalding. Despite this action the river is designated as a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle o ...
. It is one of the few clay rivers in England and Wales to retain much of its characteristic flora. It hasn't been heavily embanked like most clay rivers found in the midlands, although the majority of trees were removed. The lack of shade coupled with retained areas of grazing means there are many wildlife rich margins to the river, with nearly 100 different species of aquatic and marginal plants recorded. The river is subject to significant agricultural run off and flows from wastewater treatment works. Hence despite recent improvements, still suffers water quality problems. At one time, the river had been noteworthy of its cleanliness, with waters being "crystal clear" as one account put it. However, due to the aforementioned industries, the water quality had taken a heavy toll on the previous pristine description. Upstream of Smarden the river retains its natural meandering morphology, although it is still subject to water level management (raising water levels in the summer, and dropping them in the winter). The vegetation communities are not so interesting here as the river is smaller, heavily tree lined and a greater proportion of riverside land is in arable cultivation.


Water quality

The Environment Agency measure water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of
invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s,
angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. Water quality of the River Beult in 2016:


Site of Special Scientific Interest

River Beult between Hadman's Bridge, west of
Smarden Smarden is a civil parish and village, west of Ashford, Kent, Ashford in Kent, South East England. The village has the Church of England, Anglican parish church of Michael (archangel), St Michael the Archangel which, because of its high scissor b ...
, and the junction with the River Medway is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle o ...
. The river has a varied clay river flora, with nearly 100 recorded species. There are floating plants such as yellow water-lily in the channel and flora on the banks include
amphibious bistort ''Persicaria amphibia'' ( syn. ''Polygonum amphibium'') is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including longroot smartweed, water knotweed, water smartweed, and amphibious bistort. It is native to ...
and celery-leaved buttercup.


Watermills

The River Beult and its tributaries powered a number of watermills. From source to mouth these were:-


Cheveney Mill, Hunton

TQ 708 496 This was a corn mill, latterly converted to generate electricity c.1900. The
waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucke ...
was replaced by a
turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating e ...
made by Messrs Drake & Fletcher of
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with ...
. During the Second World War, Italian
Prisoners of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
were billeted in the mill building. The building survives today, converted into a house.


Yalding mill

A Domesday site, the mill was still in existence in 1336.


Watermills on the tributaries

The River Beult is unusual in that the majority of its watermills were not on the main river itself, but on the tributaries.


Angley Brook

A stream rises at Angley Woods, Cranbrook and flows into the Beult at Frittenden. It powered these mills:-


Pin Pond Mill, Cranbrook

This may have been a
fulling mill Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...
.


Spratsbourne Mill, Cranbrook

The miller here was Edmund Luckhurst in 1656 and 1660.Mills Archive


Dog Kennel Mill, Cranbrook

An old fulling mill site.


Friezley Mill, Cranbrook

TQ 771 384 approx An old fulling mill site.


Angley Mill, Cranbrook


Hockeredge Mill, Cranbrook

TQ 775 387 This mill was sold to Alexander Courthope in 1523, and his son sold it to Robert Hovenden in 1551. It remained in the Hovenden family for many years, until at least 1704. The mill later passed to the Bonnick family.


Hartridge (Hartridge Manor) Mill, Cranbrook

TQ 774 395 This was a
corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
. In the mid nineteenth century it was worked in conjunction with the Union Mill, the miller being Mr Russell. The mill building was standing in 1974, devoid of machinery. It probably had a breast shot waterwheel.


Paley (Hawkridge) Mill, Cranbrook

TQ 777 400 The mill building was standing in April 1974, devoid of machinery.


Lovehurst Mill, Staplehurst

This was a corn mill. John Foreman, farmer, of
Horsmonden Horsmonden ( ) is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located in the Weald of Kent. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest rai ...
hired the mill for 14 years in November 1854.


Maplehurst Mill, Frittenden

TQ 803 416 This is an old, established corn mill site. The mill survives and retains most of its machinery. It has a cast-iron overshot wheel driving three pairs of millstones. On 18 June 1557 the miller, William Allin and his wife Katherine were
burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
at Fairmeadow,
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with ...
, along with five other
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to ...
s. The Allins had fed the poor, sold corn at half price and read scriptures to people.Mills Archive
The earliest surviving part of the mill is dated 1756, David Papillon being the then owner. The mill was extended c. 1890, when a
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
was installed. The original mill building having a
peg tile Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as terracotta or slate. Modern materials such as concrete, metal and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof ...
roof with the extension being roofed in
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
. The cast-iron waterwheel is diameter and wide, mounted on a wooden axle, driving a cast-iron pit wheel with 92 wooden cogs. The cast-iron wallower has 32 teeth and is carried on a wooden upright shaft, driving a cast-iron Great Spur Wheel with 120 cogs. This drove three pairs of
millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
s. The stones are two pairs of Peak stones and one pair of French Burr stones by Hughes of Dover & London. The Crown Wheel is cast iron, with 18 teeth, it drove a total four layshafts which drove several machines, including a smutter and a Feltons Patent American Grist Mill. The mill stands on the parish boundary of Frittenden and Staplehurst, with the majority of the mill in the former parish. It was working until the winter of 1947–8, when the machinery was damaged through being iced up.The Independent
/ref>


Cherry Tree Farm, Frittenden


Tributary of the Angley Brook

A tributary of the above stream flows into the pond of Hartridge mill. It powered a mill downstream of Mad Dog Shaw.


Hammer Stream

The Hammer Stream powered watermills at:-


Hammer Mill, Biddenden

This was the most easterly iron furnace in the
Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...
. In the time of
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
it was in the ownership of Sir Richard Butler. The mill was replaced by a corn mill in the mid-seventeenth century. The Hammer Pond formerly extended to .


Hammer Mill (corn), Biddenden

TQ820 383 This corn mill stands some south-west of the site of the furnace. The brick mill building is three storeys high, with a slate roof. The overshot waterwheel was diameter and wide, mounted on an square
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
axle. It drove a cast-iron pit wheel with 88 wooden cogs. This drove a cast-iron wallower with 28 teeth mounted on a wooden upright shaft. The cast-iron Great Spur Wheel has 128 cogs and drove four pairs of millstone at one time. The three surviving pairs of stones are two pairs of French Burrs and one pair of Peak stones. The Compass-arm Crown Wheel is of all-wood construction, and has 48 cogs. It drove a layshaft and the sack hoist. The mill last worked for trade in 1928, a Mr Hall being the last miller.


Bettenham Mill

The site of this mill was marked by Mill Field and Millpond Field on the 1840 tithe map.


Tributary of the Hammer Stream

A stream rises at Sissinghurst and flows into the Hammer Stream downstream of Hammer Mill, Biddenden. it runs for passing through Sissinghurst and Frittenden and then joins the River Beult at
Headcorn Headcorn is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone. The village is 8 mi (13 km) southeast of Maidstone, on the A274 road to ...
. There are many footpaths crossing it and many beautiful walks typical of the Kentish countryside. It powered a watermill:-


New Mill, Sissinghurst

TQ 802 381 This mill was mentioned in rate books of 1687 and 1689.


Crane Brook

The Crane Brook rises at Hartley, it powered a number of mills before joining the Hammer Stream at Biddenden.


Upper Mill, Cranbrook

This mill stood in the area now known as "The Bottoms". The Upper Pond is mentioned in 1503, and in 1545 Thomas Roberts granted a lease to Thomas Burgess of Cranbrooke of the "uppermost mmyll ponde" - information given in the lease suggests that the Upper Mill was a fulling mill then.


Anthony's Mill, Cranbrook

This mill was mentioned in 1416 and again in 1447, its location being in Mellane (Mill Lane). In 1464 a rental entry mentions "Anthony's Mill Pond.


Fulling mill, Cranbrook

This was located near the present day Moat Farm. The mill pond would have been some in area. It was most likely a fulling mill.


Sissinghurst Mill

The site of this mill is occupied by the present day Lake Chad. In the early 17th century the millers were Francis Chittenden (1634) followed by John Chittenden (1654–69). The mill was a corn mill.


Karckeregge Mill

The first mention of this mill was in 1353 when the mill was leased. John Bettenham was the lessee in 1416, being the son of Stephen Bettenham. The mill was leased to Peter Courtnope in 1451 and again in 1472, by then probably a fulling mill. The land the mill stood on now forms part of Plumers Farm.


Branden Mill

A long lost mill site, probably a fulling mill.


Tributary of the Crane Brook

A tributary of the Crane Brook rises at Swattenden, it powered five mills, including those at:-


The Freight, Cranbrook

A fulling mill.


Baker's Cross, Cranbrook

This fulling mill at Baker's Cross was first mentioned in 1500 as "Hancock's Mill". It may have been a fulling mill or a corn mill then. In 1516 it had been replaced by "Thomas Sheffe's new fulling mill". The mill seems to have ceased working by 1604, when a dyehouse was in use at the site.Tony Sing
/ref>


Further tributary of the Crane Brook

A tributary of the Crane Brook flows through the town. It powered:-


Hatmill, Cranbrook

John Tooth bought a house in Stone Street, Cranbrook in the late eighteenth century. he built a small factory at the back of this house in which he made hats. It was powered by a small waterwheel. The building survives today as a private house.


Stream at Ulcombe

A stream rises at Ulcombe and flows into the beult at Hawkenbury. It powered a watermill.


Upper Mill, Ulcombe

This was probably the Domesday mill recorded at Ulcombe. Chegworth mill was also known as Lower Mill thus this mill would be the Upper Mill.


Stream at Chart Sutton

A stream rises at Chart Sutton and flows into the Beult at Cross At Hand. It powered a watermill.


Chart Mill, Chart Sutton

TQ 794 493 This mill is a timber framed mill on a single storey brick base. The waterwheel was some diameter and wide, it was removed during World War Two. The cast iron axle is square, and bears the legend "WEEKS & SON, MAIDSTONE 1875" on one face. No other machinery is known to exist in the mill, the lower floor having been filled with concrete when the mill was converted, the upper floors being used as an office.It is possible that the machinery is buried within the concrete, but this is not known as a fact.


See also

*
Medway watermills The Medway and its tributaries and sub-tributaries have been used for over 1,150 years as a source of power. There are over two hundred sites where the use of water power is known. These uses included corn milling, fulling, paper making, iron sm ...


References

{{authority control Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent Beult Watermills in Kent 1Beult