The Town Mill 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 ...

18th Century

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 ...

located in the centre of

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

on 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 ...

History

The earliest recorded mill on the site was one constructed by Walter de la Poyle in 1295. This 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 ...

as Guildford was an important location in the wool trade. This was probably the mill known as Kings Mill. By the late 17th century the mill had been extended to include corn milling with 4 pairs of stones, two for flour and two for animal feed. The whole assembly was driven by three external water wheels. The construction of the

Wey Navigation The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming (commonly called the Wey Navigation). Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned b ...

was a boon for the mill, enabling grain to be delivered to the mill by barge and the resulting sacks of flour to be taken, again by barge, to London. By 1768, the buildings had become rather dilapidated and the eastern range was demolished and replaced by a three-storey red brick edifice with dentil moulding under the eaves of a tiled roof. The western range was simply repaired and continued in use. This section was known as the Hogsmeat Mill. At the same time the old

undershot 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 bucket ...

wheels were replaced with more efficient breast shot wheels. In 1827, it was reported that an extension to the Hogsmeat Mill was attached to the Guildford foundry, on the site now occupied by the

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is a theatre located in Guildford, Surrey, England. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, it presents a series of locally produced and national touring productions, including opera, ballet and pantomime. The theatre ...

, but this building was demolished by 1852. In 1852, the western section was replaced with an identical brick building styled to match the 1768 building. From 1770, an additional

water wheel 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 buckets ...

was being used to pump water to the town reservoir on Pewsey Down. This was replaced by two

water turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...

s in 1896, then a single turbine in 1930, in use until 1952 when it was itself replaced by electric pumps nearby. In 2003, Guildford Borough Council arranged for the refurbishment and installation of an identical turbine as an example of

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

. Rather than pumping water, this turbine drives a generator to supply up to 260,000 kWH of electricity into the National Grid, annually. The turbine came on-line in 2006. The 1930 turbine has since been preserved, and is on display at

Dapdune Wharf Dapdune Wharf is a former industrial wharf and boat yard on the Wey and Godalming Navigations in Guildford, England, UK, close to the Surrey County Cricket Club ground. It is now maintained by the National Trust. Originally a goods transshipme ...

. The Mill is now used by the adjacent Yvonne Arnaud Theatre as a scenery workshop and studio theatre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guilford Watermills in Surrey Historic sites in England Grade II listed buildings in Surrey Flour mills in the United Kingdom Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Guildford Water turbines

History

See also

References