![River Stour Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/River_Stour_Map.jpg)
The
River Stour has been used for centuries as a source of power. Many different processes were performed by the use of water power:- Corn milling, fulling, paper making and electricity generation. Many of the mills survive today as house conversions, with two of them still working commercially.
Upper Great Stour
The upper reaches of the
Great Stour
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
powered eight watermills, with a further two on tributaries.
Chapel Mill, Lenham
TQ 903 503
This
corn mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separate ...
in
Lenham
Lenham is a market village and civil parish in Kent situated on the southern edge of the North Downs, east of Maidstone. The picturesque square in the village has two public houses (one of which is a hotel), a couple of restaurants, and a tea ...
is the only one that was powered by the Upper Great Stour, the other
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 ...
s in Lenham were powered by the
River Len
The River Len is a river in Kent, England. It rises at a spring in ''Bluebell Woods'' to the southeast of the village centre of Lenham from the source of the River Great Stour; both rise on the Greensand Ridge. Its length is c. It enters the ...
. The mill building has been converted to residential use, devoid of machinery. It had a breast shot waterwheel.
[Spain (1986), p21-22]
Bowley Mill, Boughton Malherbe
TQ 902 496
This corn mill in
Boughton Malherbe is now a derelict ruin, with the remains of the ground floor,
waterwheel and some machinery remaining. The waterwheel was overshot, some diameter and wide, carried on a diameter cast-iron axle. The Pit Wheel is of cast iron, and had 96 cogs. The Upright Shaft was wood, as was the clasp arm Great Spur Wheel, which drove three pairs of millstones.
[Spain (1986), p23-24] The mill building was by in plan, and new machinery was installed in 1881. The upper floors of the mill were pulled down in the 1960s as they had become unsafe.
Burnt Mill, Charing
TQ 913 492
This corn mill at
Charing
Charing is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, in south-east England. It includes the settlements of Charing Heath and Westwell Leacon. It is located at the foot of the North Downs and reaches up to the escarpment.
T ...
still remains in a derelict condition, with most of its machinery intact. The mill was working until the mid-1950s. The cast-iron waterwheel was diameter and wide, on a cast-iron axle. It bears the legend J HILL, ASHFORD, 1863. The pit wheel is diameter with 80 cogs, driving a cast-iron Wallower carried on the upright shaft and driving a diameter Great Spur Wheel which drove three pairs of millstones. A Crown Wheel drove two lineshafts.
[Spain (1986), p27-33] The mill was run by the Tanton family for many years.
A John Tanton was the miller in 1764, and another John Tanton died in 1837 aged 72.
[
]
Field Mill, Charing
TQ 915 483
This corn mill at Charing
Charing is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, in south-east England. It includes the settlements of Charing Heath and Westwell Leacon. It is located at the foot of the North Downs and reaches up to the escarpment.
T ...
still stands, retaining a little machinery. The overshot waterwheel was diameter and wide. It bears the legend HILL & SON ASHFORD 1877. The waterwheel is carried on a cast-iron axle, driving a cast-iron Pit Wheel. All other machinery has been removed. The mill had two pairs of millstones.[Spain (1986), p59-61] Millers were a Mr Pay and Mr Pope from 1878 - 1892,[Possibly at Field windmill] and Walter Hicks in 1892, having previously been at the windmill
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...
.
Swallow Mill, Little Chart
TQ 934 469
This corn mill at Little Chart
Little Chart is a village and civil parish, situated north-west of Ashford in Kent, South East England. The parish lies south of the M20 motorway.
Geography
Within the parish boundaries is the linear settlement village centre by the old water ...
had an internal waterwheel. The millers in the 1850s and 1860s were the Large family.
Ford Mill, Little Chart
TQ 943 459
This was a paper mill. It was in use as a paper mill as early as 1776 and took its name from the ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
which was near the mill. This was replaced by a bridge in 1836. George Langley ran the mill from the 1840s until 1876. The mill was owned by the Dering Estate at Pluckley
Pluckley is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The civil parish includes the adjacent hamlet of Pluckley Thorne.
Geography
The landscape of the area itself is the edge of a well-drained plain, with the lowest ...
. The overshot waterwheel 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 ...
. In 1941, the mill was switched to the manufacture of flong
In relief printing, a flong is a temporary negative mould made of a forme of set type, in order to cast a metal stereotype (or "stereo") which can be used in a rotary press, or in letterpress printing after the type has been broken down for re-us ...
for the Daily Express newspaper. Changing economic conditions meant that flong manufacture ceased in 1986.
Worten Mill, Godinton
TQ 970 435
The mill at Godinton
Godinton (sometimes known as Godinton Park) is a suburb of Ashford, Kent in England, with its stately home Godinton House within its outskirts.
Godinton is located between Great Chart, Hothfield and the town of Ashford proper.
The Orpington ...
was a corn mill. The building survives, converted to residential use. This is one of the oldest mills in Kent recorded in a charter in 762. The waterwheel although in a poor state of repair is still in the building.
Buxford Mill, Great Chart
TQ 989 426
Buxford Mill ceased operating as a corn mill after the war and was changed to residential use before several attempts at making it a restaurant and hotel failed. The house was derelict for some time before it ultimately settled as a domestic residence.
The house now standing was built in 1600 with numerous additions but the waterwheel and all mill workings have now gone.
There is still a waterfall and sluice adjacent to the house but old maps suggest that the wheel was located inside the current granary and there is evidence of an outflow emerging from underneath the building, that has now been largely filled in.
It is likely that the wheel was either breast-shot or under-shot given the relatively small fall of approximately 6 feet.
Tributaries of the Upper Great Stour
Hothfield (Potters Corner) Mill
TQ 989 450
The corn mill to the north of Hothfield
Hothfield is a village and civil parish in the Ashford Borough of Kent, England and is 3 miles north-west of Ashford on the A20. It is completely split in two by Hothfield Common.
Geography
In the north west is Hothfield Common, 58 hectares (1 ...
still retains most of its machinery. It stood on a stream which feeds into the Great Stour. The cast-iron overshot waterwheel is diameter and wide, carried on a square cast-iron axle, driving a cast-iron Pit Wheel with 88 cogs. This drove a cast-iron wallower carried on a square cast-iron Upright Shaft, which also carried a Great Spur Wheel which originally drove four pairs of millstones and latterly drove two pairs.[Spain (1986), p77-81]
Westwell Mill
TQ 992 474
This corn mill at Westwell has been converted to residential use, retaining its overshot waterwheel.[Francis Frith's Windmills and Watermills, p96]
East Stour
The East Stour powered four watermills.
Evegate Mill, Smeeth
TR 063 380
Hanover Mill, Mersham
TR 049 391
The corn mill at Mersham
Mersham is a mostly agricultural large village and civil parish near Ashford in Kent, England. The population of the civil parish includes the area of Cheesman's Green now known as Finberry.
History
In the mid 19th century, John Marius Wilson' ...
is still engaged in the milling trade, owned by T Denne and Sons.
File:Hannover Mill, Mersham.JPG, Hanover Mill, Mersham, 1982
File:Hannover Mill, Mersham - upstream.JPG, Hanover Mill viewed from upstream
File:Hannover Mill waterwheel.JPG, Waterwheel from front
File:Hannover Mill waterwheel side.JPG, Waterwheel from side
File:Hannover Mill, cog pit.JPG, The cog pit
File:Hannover Mill, Stone floor.JPG, The stone floor
File:Hannover Mill, Bin floor.JPG, The bin floor
Image:Hancock's mill, Mersham.jpg, Hanover Mill, Mersham, 2007
Swanton Mill, Mersham
TR 039 388
This corn mill still retains its machinery. The overshot waterwheel is wide and diameter, driving the machinery via a cast-iron ring gear with 72 teeth. There were originally four pairs of millstones, of which two remain, driven by a system of belts and pulleys. This dates from the 1840s, when the mill was reworked by Messrs. Holman's of Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
. There was a twin cylinder self-condensing steam engine by Hall's of Dartford, built in 1840 which provided auxiliary power. This was dismantled and donated to the Newcomen Society Newcomen may refer to:
People
* John Newcomen (c.1613–1630), English first white settler murdered by another white settler in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts
* Matthew Newcomen (c. 1610–1669), English nonconformist churchman
*Thomas Newcomen (16 ...
in 1920. The original intention was that this would be displayed in the Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...
, but it later passed to the Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contains ...
in America.[Spain (1986), p120-28]
Sevington Mill, Willesborough
TR 032 415
Sevington
Sevington is a historic village which has become a suburb of Ashford, Kent in England.
History
The geographically small village of Sevington is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ''Seivetone''. It appears as ''Se ...
mill was a corn mill which had two overshot wheels driving a total of five pairs of millstones. The mill was refitted in 1852. It burnt down and was a ruin by 1939.[
]
Tributaries of the East Stour
A stream rises above Stowting and flows inte the East Stour above Evegate Mill. It powered a watermill.
Stowting Mill
TR 124 418
This millstones in the watermill were driven overdrift.[TIMS p97]
Great Stour
The Great Stour
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
powered sixteen watermills, with another on the Kennington Stream
Kennington Stream (or ''Penlee / Pen Lee'') is a tributary of the Great Stour river in Ashford, Kent, 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 n ...
.
East Hill Mill, Ashford
TR 015 427
This water and steam mill was a corn mill, one of those run by H.S. Pledge & Sons Ltd. The converted building survives, used as a nightclub until 2014, with a dummy waterwheel outside. It was the only watermill in Ashford, which was well supplied with windmill
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...
s and steam mills.
Image:East Hill Mill, Ashford.JPG, East Hill Mill, 1982
Image:East Hill Mill, Ashford - waterwheel.JPG, Reproduction waterwheel.
Image:East Hill Flour Mills in Ashford.JPG, East Hill Mill, 2015
Wye Mill
TR 049 469
The mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
at Wye was run for many years by the Denne family. The building survives today having been extensively restored around 2000.
Image:Wye watermill.jpg, Wye watermill c1910
Image:Wye watermill 1982.JPG, Wye mill in 1982
Chilham Mill
TR 078 534
The large corn mill at Chilham
Chilham is a mostly agricultural village and parish in the English county of Kent with a clustered settlement, Chilham village centre, in the northeast, and a smaller linear settlement, Shottenden. Well-preserved roads and mostly residential list ...
is the best preserved on the River Stour. The waterwheel is diameter and wide, carried on a + section cast-iron axle of a nominal diameter. This also carried a cast-iron Pit Wheel diameter with 96 cogs driving a Wallower with 34 teeth on a cast-iron Upright Shaft carrying a cast-iron Great Spur Wheel with 114 cogs. This drove six pairs of millstones, originally all underdrift, but one of the Stone Nuts has been adapted to drive a vertical shaft which powered auxiliary machinery and drove the sixth pair of stones overdrift by belt and pulley.[Spain (1986), p44-52]
Image:Chilham French's 1906.jpg, The mill c1906
Image:Chilham mill.jpg, Chilham mill today
Chartham Corn Mill
TR 097 554
The building of this corn mill at Chartham
Chartham is a village and civil parish in the Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south west of Canterbury, England. The Great St ...
survives converted to residential use[Francis Frith's Windmills and Watermills, p69] and devoid of machinery. It was powered by a low breast shot waterwheel some wide. There was also a turbine some in diameter which drove a pump.[Spain (1986), p35-37]
Chartham Paper Mill
TR 108 549
This mill is a Domesday mill. There was 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 ...
in 1438 and paper production started circa 1730. Tracing paper was discovered here after a worker accidentally added too much starch to the mixture. The paper mill is still working commercially, producing tracing paper to this day. It is owned by Arjo Wiggins
Arjowiggins is an independent paper manufacturer based in Scotland.
History
The company's origins go back to 1761 when Buckland Mill in Dover in Kent commenced operations.
Meanwhile, in France, in the middle of the 20th century there were four ...
.
Image:Chartham Paper 1908.jpg, c1908
Image:Chartham Paper mill.jpg, The mill today
Cock Mill, Canterbury
TR 145 580
The River Stour bifurcates through Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
, the western stream powered two watermills and the eastern stream powered eight.
Cock Mill was a small mill with a single waterwheel. It was demolished in the 19th century.
Dean's (Westgate, Shafford's, Hooker's) Mill, Canterbury
TR 148 583
This was a corn mill. The mill was rebuilt circa 1790 and had two internal waterwheels driving eight pairs of stones. The mill was bought by William Hooker in the 1890s and was renamed Westgate mill. The mill burnt down in June 1954.
Barton Mill, Canterbury
TR 156 588
The following mills are those on the eastern stream of the River Stour in Canterbury.
This was the last watermill in Canterbury that was working for trade. For many years it was a paper mill, and then a corn mill. There were two waterwheels driving the millstones, and probably another waterwheel which drove other machinery. The millstones were latterly replaced by roller mills. There was a fire in 1951, after which the mill was modernised, and another fire in July 2004 meant the end of milling at Barton mill. Some of the buildings survive, converted to residential use.
St. Mildred's Mill, Canterbury
This corn mill stood within the city walls, and disappeared in mediaeval times.
St. Mildred's Tannery, Canterbury
The tannery
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
in Canterbury occupies a very old site, even older than the cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
. The current firm was established in 1878 by Joseph and Samuel Conolly. Leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
from the tannery was of the highest quality, and has been used in the coronation coach of King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
, Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
s, Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
, the QE2, Ferraris, and the Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...
. The tannery buildings are now converted to residential use.
Mead Mill, Canterbury
Little is known of this mill, which disappeared centuries ago.
King's Mill, Canterbury
TR 148 580
This corn mill stood on an ancient mill site. The mill was granted to St Augustine's Abbey by King Stephen in 1144. In 1174 it was repossessed by the Crown, and granted to Rohesia, the sister of Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...
. The mill stood opposite The Weavers House, and marks in the brickwork show where the waterwheel was.
Queen's Mill, Canterbury
Abbott's (City, Denne's) Mill, Canterbury
TR 148 582
This corn mill stood on the site of a medieval mill owned by the Abbot. The building dated from 1792 and was originally designed as a granary by John Smeaton
John Smeaton (8 June 1724 – 28 October 1792) was a British civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the fi ...
. In 1794 it was converted into a watermill by Joseph Royle and James Simmons. The building was square in plan, and six storeys tall. The base was brick and the upper five storeys were wood, clad in white painted weatherboarding. At the time it was built, it was the second tallest building in Canterbury, after the Cathedral. There were two waterwheels each diameter and diameter driving a total of eight pairs of stones. In 1896 it was bought by Denne's. The mill was destroyed by fire on 17 October 1933. The cast-iron axle survives on site.[Water and Wind Power p72]
Black Mill, Sturry
Sturry
Sturry is a village on the Great Stour river situated northeast of Canterbury in Kent. Its large civil parish incorporates several hamlets and, until April 2019, the former mining village of Hersden.
Geography
Sturry lies at the old Roman jun ...
had two watermills, neither of which survive today.
White Mill, Sturry
TR 175 600
This corn mill has been demolished, with only scant remains of the machinery remaining. There is a turbine of some diameter, and a low breast shot waterwheel diameter and wide.[Spain (1986), p134-38]
Tributaries of Great Stour
Kennington Mills
TR 032 454
The mills at Kennington were powered by wind, steam and water. The windmill was built in 1813 by Messrs. Hill, the Ashford millwrights. The millers in 1886 were Messrs. Pledge, who had several mills in the Ashford area. In 1892 Charles Stanley took the mills. The sails from the windmill were taken to Pluckley windmill when Kennington mills closed. The windmill was an empty shell by the 1930s[Watermills and Windmills, p228-29] and was demolished in 1952.[The Windmills of Kent, p99] The windmill was connected by a footbridge to the watermill building and the steam mill building was attached to the windmill base, which survives today. The watermill was powered by the Kennington Stream
Kennington Stream (or ''Penlee / Pen Lee'') is a tributary of the Great Stour river in Ashford, Kent, 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 n ...
.
Little Stour
The Little Stour
The Little Stour is one of the tributaries of the River Stour in the English county of Kent. The upper reaches of the river is known as the Nailbourne, whilst the lower reaches were once known as the Seaton Navigation.
The intermittent source ...
powered four watermills.
Littlebourne (Hovis, Jarvis, White) Mill
TR 214 581
Littlebourne
Littlebourne is a village and civil parish east of Canterbury in Kent, South East England.
History
The significant Howletts Anglo-Saxon cemetery is in the parish. It is regarded as " Jutish"; finds are in the British Museum and elsewhere, and i ...
mill was a corn mill with a breastshot waterwheel. The building survives, converted to residential use.[Francis Frith's Windmills and Watermills p86] The mill was standing in 1803, when it was leased to William White. In 1820, a by waterwheel was installed for Mr Kingsford, replacing a smaller waterwheel. The mill was being run by William Halliday in 1851. In 1894, Messrs Holman Bros, millwrights of Canterbury, quoted £45.10.0 for a new iron waterwheel and pit wheel, or £36.0.0 for a new wooden one. The mill was owned by Mr Jarvis in 1944, in which year it was sold to Vitovis Ltd. In 1945, the mill was modernised by the fitting of roller milling machinery and converting the whole to be powered by electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...
. A large sign on the mill advertised Hovis
Hovis Ltd is a British company that produces flour and bread. The brand originated in Stoke-on-Trent and was first mass-produced in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 1886. It became part of Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) in 1962 after a succession of merge ...
flour. The mill was later sold to Gardener & Sons of Birchington
Birchington-on-Sea is a village in the Thanet district in Kent, England, with a population of 9,961.
The village forms part of the civil parish of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary, between th ...
but had closed by 1957. The mill was house-converted in the early 1960s, with all machinery being removed.
Ickham Mill
TR 214 580
Ickham mill was a corn mill. The building survives, converted to residential use.
Wickhambreaux Mill
TR 220 556
Wickhambreaux
Wickhambreaux ( ) is a small rural village in Kent, England. The village is just off the A257 Sandwich Road, four miles east of the city of Canterbury. Since Roman times the village has had connections to the Church and the Crown, including bei ...
mill was a large corn mill, with a brick base and four storeys clad in weatherboarding. The mill has been converted into flats, and retains its breast shot waterwheel.
Seaton Mill, Wickhambreaux
TR 226 586
Seaton mill was a large mill, with tarred weatherboarding. It had a breastshot waterwheel and a steam engine. The building survives, converted to residential use.[Francis Frith's Windmills and Watermills p82]
References
Sources
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{{Kent Watermills
Rivers of Kent
Watermills in Kent