River Eden, Kent
Encyclopedia
The River Eden in West Kent
is a tributary of the River Medway
. It travels through the Weald
of Kent from the border with Surrey
, rising from the source in Titsey
parish, Surrey, grid reference
TQ 420 551, about 350 metres north of Clacket Lane motorway services
, and flowing eastward through the Wealden clay to join the River Medway near Penshurst, Kent, grid reference TQ 537 434. The section from its source to where the Gibbs Brook joins it is also known as the Broadmead Water. Its name is a back formation deriving from Edenbridge
, the main town through which it flows, and which was originally called in the Old English language
"Eadhelmsbrigge" ("Eadhelm's Bridge").
, water quality in the Eden is mainly classified as General Quality Assessment (GQA) Class C, although the headwaters near Oxted
are Class D. The river receives treated sewage effluent from two Southern Water Services Limited Sewage Treatment Works (STW), serving Edenbridge and Oxted respectively; the stretches receiving these effluents are both subject to EC Urban Water Treatment "Sensitive Waters" investigations. There are other much smaller private sewage treatment works throughout the catchment. The river and its tributaries support coarse fisheries. Average flows at Penshurst range from 3.909 m³/s in January to 0.485 m³/s in July. Water to fill Bough Beech Reservoir
(Sutton and East Surrey Water Company) is pumped from a point just upstream of Penshurst.
was converted into a fulling mill.
The 1868 ordnance survey map identifies the site of this pre-conquest
mill from the position of its sluice. This has been renewed and the pond is occasionally in water.
then being valued at 2s. This mill may take its name from the Tydye/Tidy family. This mill was demolished in 1892.
This mill was demolished in the late 18th century; by 1817 the site of the millpond was used for cottages.
The surviving corn mill building, now just "Oxted Mill", has been converted into offices. It dates from 1892-5, although on a site in use from much earlier. Originally two buildings, the older one housed an overshot wheel of 12 feet (3.7 m) diameter, breadth 5 in 6 in (1.68 m). The newer mill, opened on 12 June 1893, was a roller mill
driven by a 4 feet (1.2 m) turbine producing 63 hp at 63 revolutions per minute. The building was used as a factory for making woodworking tools in the 1950s.
TQ 397 506 51.237379°N 0.002114°W
A Domesday site. This mill retains its machinery, which dates from c.1860 and is all cast iron
. The mill is used as a corporate event centre, and there is a trout
fishery nearby. The cast iron waterwheel still turns.
TQ 418 455 51.191026°N 0.030162°W
Haxted Watermill
stands in Surrey close to the borders with Kent. It is a Domesday site and the mill was mentioned in the will of Sir Reginald de Cobham
in 1361. The western half of the building dates to c.1580 and the eastern half dates to 1794. The mill was last used to grind flour in 1919 but worked until 1945. It was turned into a museum
in 1969 but is now a brasserie and bar.
The current overshot waterwheel has a diameter of 10 feet (3 m) and a width of 9 feet (2.7 m). It was installed in about 1830, but by 1972 the 72 iron buckets had failed and were replaced by fibreglass replicas. The bearing-stone for an earlier, undershot waterwheel was found during renovation and this dates to the 14th century. In full working order the current wheel produced about 11 hp, rotating at 8 r.p.m.
and driving three pairs of millstone
s, through gearing, at 120 r.p.m. The Pit Wheel and Wallower are of the same date as the waterwheel, but the Great Spur Wheel, made of oak with applewood teeth, has been dated to 1580. The mill originally operated three pairs of millstones, but in the later years of its working life one pair was removed.
In 1291 a water powered pump was at work here, draining the marshland between Lingfield
and Edenbridge
. The present corn mill building dates to the early 19th century, but incorporates parts of an older structure. The cast iron low breastshot waterwheel drove three pairs of stones. The mill last ground by water sometime before the First World War, and was working by electricity into the 1970s. The waterwheel was used to work ancillary machinery until 1968, when the cast iron pit wheel was broken in the floods of that year.
TQ 496 461 51.194428°N 0.141964°W
Possibly a Domesday site. In the 18th century the millers were the Keeys family, Richard c.1740, followed by his son Richard. In 1840 the mill was owned by Henry Streatfield and in the occuption of James Young. The wife of his son James Jr died in 1853, James Jr was describes as being "of Chiddingstone mill". The mill was last worked in the 1930s.
This mill was a derelict shell for many years, but the building has now been house converted. No machinery survives. A picture of the mill before conversion can be seen here and more pictures can be seen here.
A weir in Vexour Park marks the site of a long vanished watermill.
tenants had perished in the plague
. It had previously been worth 20s or 30s per year. In the Elizabethan times
the mill was used as a gunpowder
mill, in the ownership of George Evelyn, grandfather of diarist John Evelyn
. On On 28 January 1589 Evelyn was granted a wide-ranging royal licence to explore for saltpetre
, a principal ingredient, and his mills at Godstone were the most important in the country. The mill has been house converted, only the axle and pit wheel remaining of the machinery.
This was an old hammer mill site. The mill was first mentioned in 1562 when John Thorpe was listed as repairing buildings, the mill and banks to the value of £64. He was leasing the manor of Hedgecourt from the Gage family of Firle
at the time. In 1567 John Thorpe took out a 21 year lease on the mill, the mills being described as "newly erected" and having an overshot waterwheel. In 1594, the mill was in the tenancy of Thomas Thorpe, son of John Thorpe. In 1652, the mill was in the tenance of Robert Filkes of Godstone
. In 1663, John Finch took out an eleven year lease on Hedgecourt Mill. A toll chest is mentioned in the lease, indicating that the mill was a corn mill, at least in part. He was still there in 1669, paying a half-yearly rent of £14 and tax of 2/-. By March 1670 Joseph Marchant had joined him, but he died in 1674. His widow Sarah took out a lease on the mill in October of that year. The mill passed to her son John in 1688. In 1701, Joseph Marchant (son of John) was at the mill. He built or extended a house in 1701, possibly an extension to the mill. In 1723, Joseph Marchant renewed his lease on the mill and in 1739 James Marchant (son of Joseph) took a sixty year lease with William Clayton of Marden
on 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of Hedgecourt Heath in Horne
, on which to erect a windmill
. The mill was an open trestle post mill
. Joseph Marchant seems to have retired by 1742. An unexecuted lease of 1743 mentions that the miller has permission to take timber for the purpose of making charcoal
(used in the smelting
of iron
). The site remained in the ownership of the Gage family until 1745, when Colonel Edward Evelyn bought it. It was a furnace mill at that time.
Edward Evelyn commissioned a map of his new estate. This was drawn by J Bourd of Tunbridge Wells, Kent in 1748. James Marchant was still at the mill in 1773, when he bequeathed all his possessions to his brother Benjamin Marchant, a cooper and innkeeper of Cheam
, Surrey. James Marchant seems to have retired in the 1780s. The next known millers were Messrs Stenning, Lock and Stone are recorded as paying rent fof the Mill at Hedgecourt. This can only be the watermill as the windmill had gone by 1789. Thomas Stone was the miller in 1814, followed by his son John, who was joined by Laurence Hardy by 1822. John Saunders was the miller in 1840, having previously been at Wiremill. Saunders was still at the mill in 1855 when it was sold by Lady Selina Charlotte, Viscountess Milton to George Gatty. At that time the mill had an 11 feet (3.35 m) diameter overshot waterwheel driving two pairs of millstones. John Tully Coomber had joined Saunders by 1858, working the mill until at least 1861. George Gatty died in 1864 and the mill passed to his son Charles Henry Gatty. Robert Bartley was the miller in 1869, working the mill until at least 1871 and then Sydney Killick was the miller in 1881, followed by Thomas Colvin who was there in 1891. Charles Gatty died in 1903, and the mill passed to two of his cousins, Charles Lane Sayer and Alfred Leighton Sayer. The mill was probably still operable at this time. In 1910 the mill was sold to Percy Portway Harvey, and in 1916 the mill was in the ownership of Henry Willis Rudd, later passing to a Belgian by the name of Mr Honore Dubar.
The mill was visited by R Thurston Hopkins in 1926, the machinery still being intact at this time. A picture of the mill c.1926 can be seen here. The mill was also visited by J Hillier in 1948, who was researching a book on Surrey watermills. by this time the mill was a ruin, still containing its machinery. The upper floors of the mill were demolished in 1949 with the lower part of the mill being used as a boat store. in 1962, the Dubars sold the mill to John Edwards. The mill house was condemned in 1964 and stood empty until 1969. The building being then converted and extended to form two residences.
Machinery
Overshot waterhweel, cast iron spokes, wooden soleboard and buckets, 12 in 6 in (3.81 m) diameter by 6 feet (1.83 m) wide on an oak axle, driving a 9 in 6 in (2.9 m) diameter cast iron pit wheel with oak cogs. This drove a cast iron wallower on a wooden hexagonal upright shaft, driving a wooden Great Spur Wheel 8 feet (2.44 m) in diameter, driving two pairs of millstones.
Woodcock Forge is believed to have been built by Jack Dancy of Turners Hill
. Hedgecourt Mill is thought to have been remodelled by him about the same time. The pond at Hedgecourt acted as a storage for the Woodcock forge. The tilt hammer was operated by an overshot waterwheel. Another overshot waterwheel worked bellows. In 1574, John Thorpe of Hedgecourt was working the forge in connection with the furnace at Myllwood. in 1586 Thorpe bought property from William Swanne Sr in the Woodcock Forge area. From 1598 to 1606 the rent was paid by Thomas Thorpe, son of John and in 1629 the forge was leased by John Gage to Richard Thorpe, the son of Thomas. His son, also Richard, held the forge until 1651, when it was forfeit in lieu of a debt. Thorpe's interest in the forge was sold to Simon Everenden of Cliffe near Lewes
. In the 1650s the forge was in the occupation of John Newnham. In 1664, the forge was lease by Jeremy Johnson Jr of Charlwood
. In 1672, woodland next to the pond was referred to as "Hammerwood" also known as "Wire Wood" thus indicating a drawing mill. John Newnham died in 1707, and his wife died in 1719, but the forge was known as "Mr Johnson's Forge" in 1717. At that time the output from the forge was some 40 long tons (40.6 t) per annum. By 1729 the forge was in the occupation of Thomas Stanford, who was converting sows from Heathfield
furnace at Woodcock Forge. Stanford does not seem to have had any connections with the Wealden iron industry
after 1738. In 1742 Samuel Baker was in occupation, followed by Edward Raby and Alexander Master in 1758. They were supplying the Board of Ordnance
with several gauges of bar iron, staff iron and rolled plate. Raby & Master were bankrupt in 1764. Edward Raby died in 1771, and the forge was taken over by his son Alexander until 1774, when the Government forced him to give up Woodcock furnace in a wrangle over the size of his moulds. Joseph Wright and Thomas Pickett took the business, but it is thought that the Hammer Mill ceased to be used c.1787. In 1800, the name Wire Mill is first used.
Daniel Fossick held Wire Mill from 1800 to 1816, when he died. The mill was sold to James Jenner, who converted it to a corn mill. Jenner was at Wire Mill until 1844, when he was succeeded by William Brand. In 1838 he was joined by John Saunders, the mill being known as Woodcock Mill then. Saunders left in 1840 to take Hedgecourt Mill and William Brand joined Jenner. Jenner died in 1844 and Thomas Brand took the mill, which was known as Wire Mill in 1851. At this time the mill had two overshot waterwheels and drove four pairs of millstones. In 1855 the mill lake covered 14 acres (5.7 ha). Thomas Brand was still running the mill in 1871, assisted by his son Thomas, John Holman and John Burfield, all described as millers in the census of that year. In 1881, Thomas Brand (son) was the miller at Wire Mill. He ran the mill until 1887/88 when David Dadswell took the mill. Wire Mill was sold in 1911, described as having two overshot waterwheels and the mill lake covered 11 acres (4.5 ha) at this time. A picture of the mill c.1911 can be seen here. The mill was not sold and again offered for auction in 1912, again without success. A third attempt at auction in 1918 saw the mill being bought by a Major Crum. He sold it to a Miss Wilkins who had the building converted to residential use in 1920. The mill was purchased by the Women's Farm and Garden Union in 1922 and by 1929 was the Wire Mill Tea Gardens. By 1933 it was the Wire Mill Fishing Club and in 1948 the Wire Mill Hotel and Fishing Club. By 1962 the property was known as the Wiremill Lakeside Hotel, Country and Fishing Club. Over the next decade the Country Club grew in popularity, leading to complaints and the local council refused to renew the clubs music and dancing licence. In 1986 the mill was again sold, and although damaged by a fire during renovations reopened as a restaurant in September of that year. The mill was sold again in 1996 and 2000 and is now a pub. The building is devoid of machinery.
was water powered. It stood opposite the present day Lingfield Racecourse. In 1684 the mansion house of Batnors (later Battners) was bought by James Farindon. This included the tanyard, drying sheds and mill thereto. A map of John Gainsford's lands in 1679 shows Gateland Farm was previously known as Tanners Farm. The farm was later the home of Robert Boreman, who died in 1715. The Tannery building was rebuilt by J T Kelsey c.1840. A planning application to demolish the "historic old tannery" was made in 1996 and renewed in 2010.
at the edge of Limpsfield Common, Surrey. It joins the Kent Brook at (TQ 421 480), just to the west of the hamlet of Troy Town, Kent. On Rocque
's map of 1762 it is called the "Serpentine River".
On the Crooked River at Itchingwood Common, three-quarters of a mile south of the source. On the 1868 county survey the building is standing, but shown as "site of former water mill", and the mill pond is unwatered.
This was a hammer mill, owned by Lady Gage in 1574.
mill mentioned in 1279, when Roland, son of Peter de Broke, attempting to "twirl the wheel" was dragged into the cogs and crushed to death. The mill had an overshot wheel and had been demolished by 1933.
An old hammer mill site, two furnaces are known to have existed.
A Domesday site, this corn mill was powered supplied by a pond fed by a stream. It was powered by a cast iron overshot waterwheel and the machinery was removed in the early 1930s. The cast iron axle survives.
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
is a tributary of the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
. It travels through the Weald
Weald
The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
of Kent from the border with Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, rising from the source in Titsey
Titsey
Titsey is a civil parish in Tandridge Borough Council in Surrey. The census area Tatsfield and Titsey has a population of 1,816. The parish council clerk is David Innes. Separate springs in Titsey are the sources of the River Darent and the River Eden....
parish, Surrey, grid reference
British national grid reference system
The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using latitude and longitude....
TQ 420 551, about 350 metres north of Clacket Lane motorway services
Clacket Lane services
Clacket Lane services is a motorway service station on the M25 motorway in Surrey, United Kingdom that is owned by RoadChef. Services are located on either side of the motorway between Westerham, Kent and Limpsfield, Surrey....
, and flowing eastward through the Wealden clay to join the River Medway near Penshurst, Kent, grid reference TQ 537 434. The section from its source to where the Gibbs Brook joins it is also known as the Broadmead Water. Its name is a back formation deriving from Edenbridge
Edenbridge, Kent
Edenbridge is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The town's name derives from Old English language "Eadhelmsbrigge" . It is located on the Kent/Surrey border on the upper floodplain of the River Medway and gives its name to the latter's tributary, the River Eden...
, the main town through which it flows, and which was originally called in the Old English language
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
"Eadhelmsbrigge" ("Eadhelm's Bridge").
Water quality
According to the Environmental Change NetworkEnvironmental Change Network
The Environmental Change Network was established in 1992 by the Natural Environment Research Council to monitor long-term environmental change and its effects on ecosystems at a series of sites throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Measurements made include a wide range of physical,...
, water quality in the Eden is mainly classified as General Quality Assessment (GQA) Class C, although the headwaters near Oxted
Oxted
Oxted is a commuter town in Surrey, England at the foot of the North Downs, north of East Grinstead and south-east of Croydon.- History :The town lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....
are Class D. The river receives treated sewage effluent from two Southern Water Services Limited Sewage Treatment Works (STW), serving Edenbridge and Oxted respectively; the stretches receiving these effluents are both subject to EC Urban Water Treatment "Sensitive Waters" investigations. There are other much smaller private sewage treatment works throughout the catchment. The river and its tributaries support coarse fisheries. Average flows at Penshurst range from 3.909 m³/s in January to 0.485 m³/s in July. Water to fill Bough Beech Reservoir
Bough Beech
Bough Beech is the location in the county of Kent, England, of Bough Beech Reservoir. It is located approximately three miles east of Edenbridge and five miles south west of Sevenoaks...
(Sutton and East Surrey Water Company) is pumped from a point just upstream of Penshurst.
Watermills
The River Eden powered a number of watermills. From source to the Medway they were:-Titsey Mill
This was an old manorial mill. A Roman Villa at TitseyTitsey
Titsey is a civil parish in Tandridge Borough Council in Surrey. The census area Tatsfield and Titsey has a population of 1,816. The parish council clerk is David Innes. Separate springs in Titsey are the sources of the River Darent and the River Eden....
was converted into a fulling mill.
Limpsfield Mill
TQ 404 534 51.2623°N 0.0115°WThe 1868 ordnance survey map identifies the site of this pre-conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
mill from the position of its sluice. This has been renewed and the pond is occasionally in water.
Tidy Green Mill, Limpsfield
This was a Domesday site, the mill at LimenensfeldLimpsfield
Limpsfield is a village and parish in the east of the county of Surrey, England near Oxted at the foot of the North Downs. It lies between the A25 to the south and the M25 motorway to the north, near the Clackett Lane service station...
then being valued at 2s. This mill may take its name from the Tydye/Tidy family. This mill was demolished in 1892.
Upper Mill, Oxted
TQ 386 523 51.2528°N 0.0139°WThis mill was demolished in the late 18th century; by 1817 the site of the millpond was used for cottages.
Middle Mill, Oxted
TQ 390 513 51.2487°N 0.0098°WThe surviving corn mill building, now just "Oxted Mill", has been converted into offices. It dates from 1892-5, although on a site in use from much earlier. Originally two buildings, the older one housed an overshot wheel of 12 feet (3.7 m) diameter, breadth 5 in 6 in (1.68 m). The newer mill, opened on 12 June 1893, was a roller mill
Roller mill
Roller mills use cylindrical rollers to grind all sorts of materials rather than crushing them or grinding them between stones such as in a traditional grains mill. Roller mills are usually used for industrial grain milling and for grinding gravel into smaller rocks or pulverizing them...
driven by a 4 feet (1.2 m) turbine producing 63 hp at 63 revolutions per minute. The building was used as a factory for making woodworking tools in the 1950s.
Coltsford (Cottsford) Mill, Oxted
A Domesday site. This mill retains its machinery, which dates from c.1860 and is all cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
. The mill is used as a corporate event centre, and there is a trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
fishery nearby. The cast iron waterwheel still turns.
Mill site
This mill stood just downstream of Coltsford mill, it may have been known as "Crowherstmelle".Haxted Mill, Edenbridge
Haxted Watermill
Haxted Watermill
thumb|Haxted MillHaxted Watermill is a much-restored watermill in Surrey, England, close to the border with Kent, and is powered by the River Eden. It is a Domesday site and the mill was mentioned in the will of Sir Reginald de Cobham in 1361. The western half of the building dates to c.1580 and...
stands in Surrey close to the borders with Kent. It is a Domesday site and the mill was mentioned in the will of Sir Reginald de Cobham
Reginald de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham
Reginald de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham, KG was an English soldier and diplomat.-Life:He was the son of Sir Reginald de Cobham by Joan, the daughter and heir of William de Evere...
in 1361. The western half of the building dates to c.1580 and the eastern half dates to 1794. The mill was last used to grind flour in 1919 but worked until 1945. It was turned into a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in 1969 but is now a brasserie and bar.
The current overshot waterwheel has a diameter of 10 feet (3 m) and a width of 9 feet (2.7 m). It was installed in about 1830, but by 1972 the 72 iron buckets had failed and were replaced by fibreglass replicas. The bearing-stone for an earlier, undershot waterwheel was found during renovation and this dates to the 14th century. In full working order the current wheel produced about 11 hp, rotating at 8 r.p.m.
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
and driving three pairs of millstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
s, through gearing, at 120 r.p.m. The Pit Wheel and Wallower are of the same date as the waterwheel, but the Great Spur Wheel, made of oak with applewood teeth, has been dated to 1580. The mill originally operated three pairs of millstones, but in the later years of its working life one pair was removed.
Town (Honour's) Mill, Edenbridge
Lingfield, Surrey
Lingfield is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England. It is most famous for its horse racing course, Lingfield Park. Lingfield lies to the east of a section of the A22 which runs between Godstone and East Grinstead...
and Edenbridge
Edenbridge, Kent
Edenbridge is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The town's name derives from Old English language "Eadhelmsbrigge" . It is located on the Kent/Surrey border on the upper floodplain of the River Medway and gives its name to the latter's tributary, the River Eden...
. The present corn mill building dates to the early 19th century, but incorporates parts of an older structure. The cast iron low breastshot waterwheel drove three pairs of stones. The mill last ground by water sometime before the First World War, and was working by electricity into the 1970s. The waterwheel was used to work ancillary machinery until 1968, when the cast iron pit wheel was broken in the floods of that year.
Chiddingstone (Cranstead) Mill
Possibly a Domesday site. In the 18th century the millers were the Keeys family, Richard c.1740, followed by his son Richard. In 1840 the mill was owned by Henry Streatfield and in the occuption of James Young. The wife of his son James Jr died in 1853, James Jr was describes as being "of Chiddingstone mill". The mill was last worked in the 1930s.
This mill was a derelict shell for many years, but the building has now been house converted. No machinery survives. A picture of the mill before conversion can be seen here and more pictures can be seen here.
Vexour Park mill
TQ 511 454 approx 51.187743°N 0.163123°WA weir in Vexour Park marks the site of a long vanished watermill.
Tributaries
Its main tributaries are the Gibbs Brook, Eden Vale Stream, and the Eden Brook, which has the Felbridge Water as a tributary. The Kent Brook, which forms the boundary between Surrey and Kent for part of its length, joins near Edenbridge.Ivy Mill, Godstone.
This mill belonged to the manor of Chevington in Bletchley. In 1698 the owner was George Whatman, the mill being partly rebuilt in that year. A photograph of Ivy Mill in 1898 can be seen here. It was burnt down in the 1920s.Leigh Mill, Godstone
This Domesday mill was valueless in 1349, as all the sokeSoke (legal)
The term soke ), at the time of the Norman Conquest of England generally denoted "jurisdiction", but due to vague usage probably lacks a single precise definition....
tenants had perished in the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
. It had previously been worth 20s or 30s per year. In the Elizabethan times
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
the mill was used as a gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
mill, in the ownership of George Evelyn, grandfather of diarist John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
. On On 28 January 1589 Evelyn was granted a wide-ranging royal licence to explore for saltpetre
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
, a principal ingredient, and his mills at Godstone were the most important in the country. The mill has been house converted, only the axle and pit wheel remaining of the machinery.
Hedgecourt Mill, Felbridge
TQ 359 404 51.146622°N 0.056154°WThis was an old hammer mill site. The mill was first mentioned in 1562 when John Thorpe was listed as repairing buildings, the mill and banks to the value of £64. He was leasing the manor of Hedgecourt from the Gage family of Firle
Firle
For the suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, see Firle, South Australia.Firle is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word fierol meaning overgrown with oak...
at the time. In 1567 John Thorpe took out a 21 year lease on the mill, the mills being described as "newly erected" and having an overshot waterwheel. In 1594, the mill was in the tenancy of Thomas Thorpe, son of John Thorpe. In 1652, the mill was in the tenance of Robert Filkes of Godstone
Godstone
Godstone is a village in the county of Surrey, England. It is located approximately six miles east of Reigate at the junction of the A22 and A25 major roads, and near the M25 motorway.-History:...
. In 1663, John Finch took out an eleven year lease on Hedgecourt Mill. A toll chest is mentioned in the lease, indicating that the mill was a corn mill, at least in part. He was still there in 1669, paying a half-yearly rent of £14 and tax of 2/-. By March 1670 Joseph Marchant had joined him, but he died in 1674. His widow Sarah took out a lease on the mill in October of that year. The mill passed to her son John in 1688. In 1701, Joseph Marchant (son of John) was at the mill. He built or extended a house in 1701, possibly an extension to the mill. In 1723, Joseph Marchant renewed his lease on the mill and in 1739 James Marchant (son of Joseph) took a sixty year lease with William Clayton of Marden
Marden, Kent
Marden is a village about 13 km south of Maidstone and civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the flood plain of the River Beult near Maidstone. It is on the B2079 road linking the A229 Maidstone with the A21 at Flimwell. It has its own railway...
on 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of Hedgecourt Heath in Horne
Horne, Surrey
Horne is a village and civil parish in the District of Tandridge in Surrey, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Newchapel, and has a population of 805. The parish is located on the A22 road, east of Horley, west of Lingfield, south west of Oxted, and south of Kingston upon...
, on which to erect a windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
. The mill was an open trestle post mill
Post mill
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. The defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. The earliest post mills in England are thought to have...
. Joseph Marchant seems to have retired by 1742. An unexecuted lease of 1743 mentions that the miller has permission to take timber for the purpose of making charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
(used in the smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
). The site remained in the ownership of the Gage family until 1745, when Colonel Edward Evelyn bought it. It was a furnace mill at that time.
Edward Evelyn commissioned a map of his new estate. This was drawn by J Bourd of Tunbridge Wells, Kent in 1748. James Marchant was still at the mill in 1773, when he bequeathed all his possessions to his brother Benjamin Marchant, a cooper and innkeeper of Cheam
Cheam
Cheam is a large suburban village close to Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton, England, and is located close to the southern boundary between Greater London and Surrey. It is divided into two main areas: North Cheam and Cheam Village. North Cheam includes more retail shops and supermarkets,...
, Surrey. James Marchant seems to have retired in the 1780s. The next known millers were Messrs Stenning, Lock and Stone are recorded as paying rent fof the Mill at Hedgecourt. This can only be the watermill as the windmill had gone by 1789. Thomas Stone was the miller in 1814, followed by his son John, who was joined by Laurence Hardy by 1822. John Saunders was the miller in 1840, having previously been at Wiremill. Saunders was still at the mill in 1855 when it was sold by Lady Selina Charlotte, Viscountess Milton to George Gatty. At that time the mill had an 11 feet (3.35 m) diameter overshot waterwheel driving two pairs of millstones. John Tully Coomber had joined Saunders by 1858, working the mill until at least 1861. George Gatty died in 1864 and the mill passed to his son Charles Henry Gatty. Robert Bartley was the miller in 1869, working the mill until at least 1871 and then Sydney Killick was the miller in 1881, followed by Thomas Colvin who was there in 1891. Charles Gatty died in 1903, and the mill passed to two of his cousins, Charles Lane Sayer and Alfred Leighton Sayer. The mill was probably still operable at this time. In 1910 the mill was sold to Percy Portway Harvey, and in 1916 the mill was in the ownership of Henry Willis Rudd, later passing to a Belgian by the name of Mr Honore Dubar.
The mill was visited by R Thurston Hopkins in 1926, the machinery still being intact at this time. A picture of the mill c.1926 can be seen here. The mill was also visited by J Hillier in 1948, who was researching a book on Surrey watermills. by this time the mill was a ruin, still containing its machinery. The upper floors of the mill were demolished in 1949 with the lower part of the mill being used as a boat store. in 1962, the Dubars sold the mill to John Edwards. The mill house was condemned in 1964 and stood empty until 1969. The building being then converted and extended to form two residences.
Machinery
Overshot waterhweel, cast iron spokes, wooden soleboard and buckets, 12 in 6 in (3.81 m) diameter by 6 feet (1.83 m) wide on an oak axle, driving a 9 in 6 in (2.9 m) diameter cast iron pit wheel with oak cogs. This drove a cast iron wallower on a wooden hexagonal upright shaft, driving a wooden Great Spur Wheel 8 feet (2.44 m) in diameter, driving two pairs of millstones.
Felcourt (Woodcock Hammer, Weir, Wire) Mill. Felbridge
An old hammer mill site, at work from 1567 to 1786. One of the names indicates that the mill was a drawing mill at one time. In 1533, the effects of Thomas Gaynesford included a hammer mill. The property had been bough by Gaynesford from Sir John Gage in 1550. In 1559, Nicholas Norton was a miller grinding grain near lands called Shawnors, followed by John Myller in 1560 to 1563, when John Rodgers succeeded him. in 1567, Wiremill was being worked by John Thorpe. In the 1560s, there are several references to Woodcock Hammer or Forge being worked by Swanne.Woodcock Forge is believed to have been built by Jack Dancy of Turners Hill
Turners Hill
Turners Hill is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The civil parish covers an area of , and has a population of 1,849 ....
. Hedgecourt Mill is thought to have been remodelled by him about the same time. The pond at Hedgecourt acted as a storage for the Woodcock forge. The tilt hammer was operated by an overshot waterwheel. Another overshot waterwheel worked bellows. In 1574, John Thorpe of Hedgecourt was working the forge in connection with the furnace at Myllwood. in 1586 Thorpe bought property from William Swanne Sr in the Woodcock Forge area. From 1598 to 1606 the rent was paid by Thomas Thorpe, son of John and in 1629 the forge was leased by John Gage to Richard Thorpe, the son of Thomas. His son, also Richard, held the forge until 1651, when it was forfeit in lieu of a debt. Thorpe's interest in the forge was sold to Simon Everenden of Cliffe near Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
. In the 1650s the forge was in the occupation of John Newnham. In 1664, the forge was lease by Jeremy Johnson Jr of Charlwood
Charlwood
Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Surrey and Sussex ran to the south of Gatwick Airport...
. In 1672, woodland next to the pond was referred to as "Hammerwood" also known as "Wire Wood" thus indicating a drawing mill. John Newnham died in 1707, and his wife died in 1719, but the forge was known as "Mr Johnson's Forge" in 1717. At that time the output from the forge was some 40 long tons (40.6 t) per annum. By 1729 the forge was in the occupation of Thomas Stanford, who was converting sows from Heathfield
Heathfield, East Sussex
Heathfield is a small market town, and the principal settlement in the civil parish of Heathfield and Waldron in the Wealden District of East Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, England.-Location:...
furnace at Woodcock Forge. Stanford does not seem to have had any connections with the Wealden iron industry
Wealden iron industry
The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until about 1770. Ironmaking in the Weald used ironstone from various clay...
after 1738. In 1742 Samuel Baker was in occupation, followed by Edward Raby and Alexander Master in 1758. They were supplying the Board of Ordnance
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the Royal Navy and British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and, later, management of the artillery and engineer...
with several gauges of bar iron, staff iron and rolled plate. Raby & Master were bankrupt in 1764. Edward Raby died in 1771, and the forge was taken over by his son Alexander until 1774, when the Government forced him to give up Woodcock furnace in a wrangle over the size of his moulds. Joseph Wright and Thomas Pickett took the business, but it is thought that the Hammer Mill ceased to be used c.1787. In 1800, the name Wire Mill is first used.
Daniel Fossick held Wire Mill from 1800 to 1816, when he died. The mill was sold to James Jenner, who converted it to a corn mill. Jenner was at Wire Mill until 1844, when he was succeeded by William Brand. In 1838 he was joined by John Saunders, the mill being known as Woodcock Mill then. Saunders left in 1840 to take Hedgecourt Mill and William Brand joined Jenner. Jenner died in 1844 and Thomas Brand took the mill, which was known as Wire Mill in 1851. At this time the mill had two overshot waterwheels and drove four pairs of millstones. In 1855 the mill lake covered 14 acres (5.7 ha). Thomas Brand was still running the mill in 1871, assisted by his son Thomas, John Holman and John Burfield, all described as millers in the census of that year. In 1881, Thomas Brand (son) was the miller at Wire Mill. He ran the mill until 1887/88 when David Dadswell took the mill. Wire Mill was sold in 1911, described as having two overshot waterwheels and the mill lake covered 11 acres (4.5 ha) at this time. A picture of the mill c.1911 can be seen here. The mill was not sold and again offered for auction in 1912, again without success. A third attempt at auction in 1918 saw the mill being bought by a Major Crum. He sold it to a Miss Wilkins who had the building converted to residential use in 1920. The mill was purchased by the Women's Farm and Garden Union in 1922 and by 1929 was the Wire Mill Tea Gardens. By 1933 it was the Wire Mill Fishing Club and in 1948 the Wire Mill Hotel and Fishing Club. By 1962 the property was known as the Wiremill Lakeside Hotel, Country and Fishing Club. Over the next decade the Country Club grew in popularity, leading to complaints and the local council refused to renew the clubs music and dancing licence. In 1986 the mill was again sold, and although damaged by a fire during renovations reopened as a restaurant in September of that year. The mill was sold again in 1996 and 2000 and is now a pub. The building is devoid of machinery.
Lingfield Tannery
This tanneryTanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
was water powered. It stood opposite the present day Lingfield Racecourse. In 1684 the mansion house of Batnors (later Battners) was bought by James Farindon. This included the tanyard, drying sheds and mill thereto. A map of John Gainsford's lands in 1679 shows Gateland Farm was previously known as Tanners Farm. The farm was later the home of Robert Boreman, who died in 1715. The Tannery building was rebuilt by J T Kelsey c.1840. A planning application to demolish the "historic old tannery" was made in 1996 and renewed in 2010.
Crooked River
This rises in springs to the south of the Greensand RidgeGreensand Ridge
The Greensand Ridge is an extensive, prominent, often heavily wooded, sandstone escarpment and range of hills in south-east England. It runs in a horseshoe shape around the Weald of Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It reaches its highest elevation, , at Leith Hill in Surrey—the second highest point...
at the edge of Limpsfield Common, Surrey. It joins the Kent Brook at (TQ 421 480), just to the west of the hamlet of Troy Town, Kent. On Rocque
John Rocque
John Rocque was a surveyor and cartographer.Rocque was born no later than 1709, since that was the year he moved to England with his parents, who were French Huguenot émigrés...
's map of 1762 it is called the "Serpentine River".
Doghurst Mill
TQ 412 508 51.2396°N 0.02140°WOn the Crooked River at Itchingwood Common, three-quarters of a mile south of the source. On the 1868 county survey the building is standing, but shown as "site of former water mill", and the mill pond is unwatered.
Felbridge Water
The Felbridge Water is a tributary of the Eden Brook. It powered two watermills.Clarkes Mill, Lingfield
TQ 401 402 51.143811°N 0.003782°WThis was a hammer mill, owned by Lady Gage in 1574.
Ware (Weir) Mill, Felbridge
A mill was on this site in 1241, when Stephen the miller held it of William de Adburton at a rent of 11s annually. In 1347, the mill was granted to John Gainsford. In 1406 William Atte Hurst obtained "Crowherstmelle" from the Marchant family, and granted it to William Gainsford. This may refer to this mill (but see above).Other tributaries.
There are other tributaries feeding the River Eden that also powered watermills.Four Elms Mill, Hever
Possibly the site of the HeverHever, Kent
Hever is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the River Eden, a tributary of the River Medway, east of Edenbridge. It is by in extent, and in area...
mill mentioned in 1279, when Roland, son of Peter de Broke, attempting to "twirl the wheel" was dragged into the cogs and crushed to death. The mill had an overshot wheel and had been demolished by 1933.
Bough Beech Furnaces, Hever
TQ 4813 4756 51.207539°N 0.120880°W and TQ 4816 4760 51.207891°N 0.121326°W.An old hammer mill site, two furnaces are known to have existed.
Christmas Mill, Edenbridge
This was a double mill (i.e. having two waterwheels) in 1347, then in the possession of William de Shernden. The mill building survives, converted into a dwelling. The miller in 1841 was J Bassett. In 1910 a float device for automatically regulating the water level in the pond was installed. This is now a static exhibit at the nearby Haxted Mill Museum.Salman's Farm Mill, Penshurst
TQ 512 434A Domesday site, this corn mill was powered supplied by a pond fed by a stream. It was powered by a cast iron overshot waterwheel and the machinery was removed in the early 1930s. The cast iron axle survives.