Stotfold Water Mill
– a look inside
The Water Mill in Stotfold is one of the oldest buildings in the town.
It stands on the River Ivel in Mill Lane, on the eastern side of the town.
The Doomsday Book mentions four mills in Stotfold one of which is
on the site that we see today. The 1086 record of English history
gives the combined rents as £4.00 and four hundred Eels, payable
to Hugh de Beauchamp, Baron of Bedford.
After this time there have been many owners and millers
culminating in the Randall family taking it over in 1873. John Randall
originally purchased the mill from the Vaughan family after initially
renting it from Charles Vaughan.
Listed as ‘a very valuable dwelling house with cellars, outbuildings,
stables and granary. Outside was a garden with orchards’. John
Randall instigated many developments under his ownership
increasing the efficiency of the milling process by installing a steam
engine.
John Lampit of Hemel Hempstead designed a new 14ft wide
overshot wheel and installed in 1897 it is the widest corn-mill
waterwheel in the UK. The next year a cast-iron hursting frame was
installed by the Rolls-Royce makers of mill equipment – Whitmore
and Binyon of Wickham Market in Suffolk.
The roller mill was installed by Ebenezer Randall (John’s son)
in 1902 in an effort to increase productivity. However this had little
effect and Stotfold Mill could not compete with other larger mills
being built in the area. In another attempt to stay profitable 1954
saw a diesel engine fitted to replace the steam engine but this proved
fruitless and by the time the mill closed in 1966 only animal feed
was being produced.
Owners and Millers
Peter Thorp and Richard Page
Richard Lorymer
James Sanders
The Guilbert Family
Henry Dawson
The Smith Family
James Pestell
Hogg and Lindsell
The Waldock Family
The Vaughan Family
The Randall Family
12
on the button issue 58 June 2017 |
01462 834265 |
[email protected] |
First named millers
? – 1516
? – 1694
1694 – 1757
1757 – 1767
1767 – 1824
1824 – 1831
1831 – 1841
1841 – 1863
1863 – 1873
1873 – 1966
www.on-the-button.co.uk