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 separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding .
114-711: 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 0.6 miles (0.97 km) from the source of the River Great Stour; both rise on the Greensand Ridge . Its length is c10 miles (16 km). It enters the River Medway at Maidstone . The river flows in a generally westerly direction. Today it runs parallel with
228-483: A 41-year lease to George Gill. The lease passed to his son William, who acquired the freehold of the mill from John and Christopher Cripps, the sons of John Cripps. Gill was declared bankrupt in 1731 and the mill passed to James Brooke, the chief mortgagee. Richard Harris was the tenant in 1736, acquiring the freehold in 1738. Harris demolished the old mill buildings and erected a new mill, but died in November 1739 before
342-448: A Domesday site, the mill was marked on a map dated 1649. A 1748 map shows the watercourses but no mill. The head of water available was some 10 feet (3.0 m), indicating a breastshot or overshot waterwheel. TQ 834 532 51°14′53″N 0°37′34″E / 51.248°N 0.626°E / 51.248; 0.626 The first mention of this mill was in 1368 when a fulling mill had been erected by Thomas Burgeys of Smarden . In 1486
456-474: A French Burr bedstone, both 42 inches (1.1 m) diameter. The crown wheel drove two layshafts, which powered various machines, including a "Ureka" winnower and an oat crusher by Ganz & Co., of Budapest, Hungary. A saw bench outside the mill was also driven by belts and pulleys. The sack hoist is driven from the top of the upright shaft. TQ 834 536 51°15′07″N 0°37′37″E / 51.252°N 0.627°E / 51.252; 0.627 Possibly
570-598: A higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide. The average hours worked per week by residents of Kent were 43.1 for males and 30.9 for females. Their industry of employment was 17.3% retail, 12.4% manufacturing, 11.8% real estate, 10.3% health and social work, 8.9% construction, 8.2% transport and communications, 7.9% education, 6.0% public administration and defence, 5.6% finance, 4.8% other community and personal service activities, 4.1% hotels and restaurants, 1.6% agriculture, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.2% mining, and 0.1% private households. This
684-413: A husk. This foundation isolated the building from vibrations coming from the stones and main gearing and also allowed for the easy re-leveling of the foundation to keep the millstones perfectly horizontal. The lower bedstone was placed in an inset in the husk with the upper runner stone above the level of the husk. American inventor Oliver Evans revolutionized the labor-intensive process of early mills at
798-412: A mechanical sieve to refine the flour, or turning a wooden drum to wind up a chain used to hoist sacks of grain to the top of the mill house. The distance between the stones can be varied to produce the grade of flour required; moving the stones closer together produces finer flour. This process, which may be automatic or controlled by the miller, is called tentering . The grain is lifted in sacks onto
912-543: A mill by 1843, there being no entry in Bagshaw's Directory of that year. The surviving building is of fifteenth century date. This was a Domesday mill, and stood some 200 yards (180 m) upstream of the present mill, on the south side of Milgate Park. In 1624 the mill was occupied by Edward Chambers. In 1635 the mill, late in the occupation of Matthew Chambers, being two corn mills and a fulling mill, were conveyed to William Cage. In 1685 Celia Cage, widow of Matthew, held
1026-462: A pair of Peak millstones were recorded as lying in the wheel pit in 1967. The stones seemed to be of early nineteenth-century manufacture and it is not known whether they came from this mill of one of the other mills owned by the Leeds Castle estate. TQ 831 536 51°15′07″N 0°37′19″E / 51.252°N 0.622°E / 51.252; 0.622 A possible mill site, a building
1140-586: A percentage called the "miller's toll". Early mills in England were almost always built by the local lord of the manor and had the exclusive right (the right of mulcture ) to a proportion on all grain processed in the community. Later, mills were supported by farming communities and the miller received the "miller's toll" in lieu of wages. Most towns and villages had their own mill so that local farmers could easily transport their grain there to be milled. These communities were dependent on their local mill as bread
1254-434: A system that allows the sequential milling of these grists, noting that "a mill, thus constructed, might grind grists in the day time, and do merchant-work at night." Over time, any small, older style flour mill became generally known as a gristmill (as a distinction from large factory flour mills). Modern mills typically use electricity or fossil fuels to spin heavy steel, or cast iron, serrated and flat rollers to separate
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#17327661925101368-433: A two engine washer for cleaning and beating rags for use in the papermaking process. The mill was marked on the first 6" Ordnance Survey map. TQ 774 553 51°16′09″N 0°32′39″E / 51.269125°N 0.544038°E / 51.269125; 0.544038 This was a fulling mill originally. It was known as Powle Mill in 1629. It was part of the manor of Newnham Court (owned by Sir John Astley), which had been in
1482-587: A view to forming a new unified authority for East Kent, although remaining within the auspices of Kent County Council. This idea was eventually dropped. For almost nine centuries, a small part of present-day East London (the North Woolwich , London E16 area), formed part of Kent. Kent is in the southeastern corner of England. It borders the Thames Estuary and the North Sea to the north, and
1596-554: A yearly tenant. James Whatman Jr bought the mill in June 1785 and Poll Mill worked in conjunction with Turkey Mill from then on. The mill was demolished in 1836 in order to create the Lake at Mote Park , Maidstone. TQ 772 556 51°16′19″N 0°32′29″E / 51.271883°N 0.541323°E / 51.271883; 0.541323 This mill was originally a fulling mill and is known to have been used as such between 1640 and 1671. It
1710-534: Is England's second-oldest cathedral, the present building built in the Early English Style. These two dioceses ensured that every village had a parish church. Corn mill The Greek geographer Strabo reports in his Geography a water-powered grain-mill to have existed near the palace of king Mithradates VI Eupator at Cabira , Asia Minor , before 71 BC. The early mills had horizontal paddle wheels, an arrangement which later became known as
1824-633: Is a county in the South East England region, the closest county to continental Europe . It borders Essex across the entire estuary of the River Thames to the north; the French department of Pas-de-Calais across the Strait of Dover to the south-east; East Sussex to the south-west; Surrey to the west and Greater London to the north-west. The county town is Maidstone . It is
1938-402: Is a notable sector: "The Garden of England" is a nickname for the county, which has multiple orchards and allotments. In north-west Kent, industries include aggregate building material extraction, printing and scientific research. Coal mining has also played its part in the county's industrial heritage. The name is of Celtic origin, and dates back to at least the 4th century BC. It is one of
2052-632: Is a rich sequence of Bronze Age , Celtic Iron Age , and Britto- Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley . Julius Caesar described the area as Cantium , or the home of the Cantiaci , in 51 BC. The extreme west of the modern county was by the time of Roman Britain occupied by a Celtic Iron Age tribe known as
2166-417: Is cast iron with 96 lignum vitae cogs. The cast-iron upright shaft carries a cast-iron wallower with 38 teeth and a cast-iron great spur wheel with 104 cogs. It powered three pairs of millstones . One pair are French Burr stones (by Hughes & Son of Dover and London) of 44 inches (1.1 m) diameter, one pair are Peak stones of 46 inches (1.2 m) diameter and the third pair have a Peak runner stone on
2280-477: Is higher than the whole of England for construction and transport/communications and lower for manufacturing. Kent is sometimes known as the "Garden of England" for its abundance of orchards and hop gardens. In particular the county produces tree-grown fruits, strawberries and hazelnuts. Distinctive hop-drying buildings called oasts are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer to London, market gardens also flourish. Kent
2394-510: Is not known which mill each was at, there being two watermills and a windmill in Ulcombe during this period. William Taylor was the miller in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1702, John Feverstone was the miller. The mill was known as Pendmill in 1745 when the miller was recorded as John Feverstour the Elder. John Feverstone the older was the miller in 1766, when the lease was renewed; Richard Tilbe
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#17327661925102508-615: Is probably the Barbegal aqueduct and mill where water with a 19-metre fall drove sixteen water wheels , giving a grinding capacity estimated at 28 tons per day. Water mills seem to have remained in use during the post-Roman period. Manually operated mills utilizing a crank-and-connecting rod were used in the Western Han dynasty . There was an expansion of grist-milling in the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Persia from
2622-534: Is the main area for hazelnut production in the UK. However, in recent years, there has been a significant drop in agriculture, and industry and services are increasing their utilisation of the area. This is illustrated by the following table of economic indicator gross value added (GVA) between 1995 and 2003 (figures are in £ millions): North Kent is heavily industrialised, with cement-making at Northfleet and Cuxton , brickmaking at Sittingbourne, shipbuilding on
2736-464: Is under Liberal Democrat control (Tunbridge Wells), and six are under no overall control and are administered by coalitions (Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone, Swale, Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone and Hythe). Notably, Thanet is the only council in the United Kingdom to have come under UK Independence Party (UKIP) control, which it did in 2015 . At the national level, Kent is represented in
2850-517: The County of London was created and took over responsibility for local administration of parts of north-west Kent. These included the towns of Greenwich , Woolwich , Plumstead , Deptford , Lee , Eltham , Charlton , and Kidbrooke . In 1900, however, Kent absorbed the district of Penge . Some of Kent is contiguous with the Greater London sprawl, notably parts of Dartford . Originally,
2964-755: The Ebro River in Spain is associated with the Real Monasterio de Nuestra Senora de Rueda , built by the Cistercian monks in 1202. The Cistercians were known for their use of this technology in Western Europe in the period 1100 to 1350. Although the terms "gristmill" or "corn mill" can refer to any mill that grinds grain, the terms were used historically for a local mill where farmers brought their own grain and received ground meal or flour, minus
3078-595: The House of Commons by eighteen Members of Parliament (MPs). The county has historically been dominated by the Conservative Party at general elections. Prior to 2024, the party had won a majority of Kentish seats in every election since the local government reforms of 1974, including during Labour's landslide victories of 1997 and 2001 . In both 2010 and 2015 , the Conservatives won every seat in
3192-726: The Jutes , following the withdrawal of the Romans. Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, the oldest cathedral in England, has been the seat of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the conversion of England to Christianity that began in the 6th century with Saint Augustine . Rochester Cathedral in Medway is England's second-oldest cathedral. Located between London and the Strait of Dover , which separates England from mainland Europe, Kent has been
3306-773: The Local Government Act 1972 , Kent County Council has been under Conservative Party control; the exception was between 1993 and 1997 when the party came under no overall control with Labour Party leadership. At the most recent county council election in 2021 , the Conservatives won 62 out of 81 seats. Also elected were seven Labour councillors, six Liberal Democrats , four from the Green Party , one Swale Independent and one residents' association representative. Of Kent's thirteen districts, two are under Conservative control (Sevenoaks, Dartford), four are under Labour control (Gravesham, Medway, Thanet, Dover), one
3420-615: The M20 motorway for much of the first part of its journey: it passes between the hamlet of Fairbourne Heath and Harrietsham ; after Broomfield , the river becomes the lake adjoining Leeds Castle . The Len enters the town of Maidstone south of Bearsted and its waters become the lake in Mote Park ; and it enters the River Medway c1.25 miles (2.01 km) beyond. The river powered a number of watermills on itself and its tributaries in
3534-524: The Priory of Leeds by Robert de Crevecoeur the Younger . The mill was also mentioned in the will of Daniel de Crevequer , who died in 1177. At that time it was a corn mill. Leeds priory was dissolved in 1539 and the mill was still in the ownership of the priory then. In 1628, Thomas Fludd and Ralphe Buffkin sold the mill to William Cage of Lincoln's Inn , Middlesex . By this time it was a fulling mill. Cage
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3648-451: The Regni . Caesar wrote that the people of Kent were 'by far the most civilised inhabitants of Britain'. Following the withdrawal of the Romans, large numbers of Germanic speakers from mainland Europe settled in Kent, bringing their language, which came to be Old English . While they expelled the native Romano-British population, some likely remained in the area, eventually assimilating with
3762-771: The River Darent , tributaries of the River Medway, and on the River Stour . Two 18th century mills were on the River Len and at Tovil on the River Loose . In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames and at Kemsley on The Swale. In pre-industrial times, almost every village and town had its own windmill or watermill , with over 400 windmills known to have stood at some time. Twenty-eight survive within
3876-467: The River Medway in 1547. By the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) a small dockyard had been established at Chatham . By 1618, storehouses, a ropewalk , a drydock , and houses for officials had been built downstream from Chatham. By the 17th century, tensions between Britain and the powers of the Netherlands and France led to increasing military build-up in the county. Forts were built all along
3990-543: The River Medway , rises near East Grinstead in Sussex and flows eastwards to Maidstone . Here it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at Rochester, then joins the estuary of the River Thames near Sheerness . The Medway is some 70 miles (112 km) long. The river is tidal as far as Allington lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as Tonbridge . The Medway has captured
4104-483: The Roman Empire by the end of the first century BC, and these were described by Vitruvius . The rotating mill is considered "one of the greatest discoveries of the human race". It was a very physically demanding job for workers, where the slave workers were considered little different from animals, the miseries of which were depicted in iconography and Apuleius ' The Golden Ass . The peak of Roman technology
4218-817: The Straits of Dover and the English Channel to the south. France is 21 miles (34 km) across the Strait. The major geographical features of the county are based on a series of ridges and valleys running east–west across the county. These are the results of erosion of the Wealden dome, a dome across Kent and Sussex created by alpine movements 20–10 million years ago. This dome consists of an upper layer of chalk above successive layers of Upper Greensand , Gault Clay , Lower Greensand , Weald Clay , and Wealden sandstone. The ridges and valleys formed when
4332-577: The White Cliffs of Dover . Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of the county and in the Vale of Holmesdale in between and to the south are most of the county's 26 castles . The county has agriculture, haulage, logistics and tourism industries. As the land between the capital and the wider continent, it is a high-income county. Agriculture of the county
4446-438: The bran and germ from the endosperm . The endosperm is ground to create white flour, which may be recombined with the bran and germ to create whole grain or graham flour . The different milling techniques produce visibly different results, but can be made to produce nutritionally and functionally equivalent output. Stone-ground flour is preferred by many bakers and natural food advocates because of its texture, nutty flavour, and
4560-517: The fifth most populous county in England, the most populous non-metropolitan county and the most populous of the Home Counties , an area influenced by the capital such as commutes and transport connections to the capital. Twenty-eight per cent of the county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty : the North Downs and The High Weald . Kent was one of the first British territories to be settled by Germanic tribes, most notably
4674-413: The sack floor at the top of the mill on the hoist . The sacks are then emptied into bins, where the grain falls down through a hopper to the millstones on the stone floor below. The flow of grain is regulated by shaking it in a gently sloping trough (the slipper ) from which it falls into a hole in the center of the runner stone. The milled grain (flour) is collected as it emerges through the grooves in
River Len - Misplaced Pages Continue
4788-488: The " Norse wheel ", as many were found in Scandinavia. The paddle wheel was attached to a shaft which was, in turn, attached to the centre of the millstone called the "runner stone". The turning force produced by the water on the paddles was transferred directly to the runner stone, causing it to grind against a stationary " bed ", a stone of a similar size and shape. This simple arrangement required no gears , but had
4902-425: The 19th and 20th centuries. Cement came to the fore in the 19th century when massive building projects were undertaken. The ready supply of chalk and huge pits between Stone and Gravesend bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around Burham on the tidal Medway. Chalk, gravel and clay were excavated on Dartford Heath for centuries. Kent's original paper mills stood on streams like
5016-543: The 3rd century AD onwards, and then the widespread expansion of large-scale factory milling installations across the Islamic world from the 8th century onwards. Geared gristmills were built in the medieval Near East and North Africa , which were used for grinding grain and other seeds to produce meals . Gristmills in the Islamic world were powered by both water and wind. The first wind-powered gristmills were built in
5130-592: The 9th and 10th centuries in what are now Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. The Egyptian town of Bilbays had a grain-processing factory that produced an estimated 300 tons of flour and grain per day. From the late 10th century onwards, there was an expansion of grist-milling in Northern Europe. In England, the Domesday survey of 1086 gives a precise count of England's water-powered flour mills: there were 5,624, or about one for every 300 inhabitants, and this
5244-592: The Medway and Swale , engineering and aircraft design and construction at Rochester, chemicals at Dartford, papermaking at Swanley , and oil refining at Grain . There is a steel mini mill in Sheerness and a rolling mill in Queenborough . There are two nuclear power stations at Dungeness , although the older one, Dungeness A, built in 1965, was decommissioned in 2006. Cement-making, papermaking, and coal-mining were important industries in Kent during
5358-633: The Milgate estate. The tail race from Ballard's Mill was extended some 200 yards (180 m) to get sufficient height to drive an overshot waterwheel of 9 feet (2.7 m) diameter and 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. The waterwheel was carried on a cast-iron axle and drove a 7-foot-diameter (2.1 m) cast-iron pit wheel with wooden cogs. That drove the wallower on the upright shaft, then a 6-foot-diameter (1.8 m) cast-iron great spur wheel drove four pairs of millstones. There were two pairs of French Burr stones and two pairs of Peak stones. One pair of each type
5472-756: The Richter Scale. It was centred in the Sandwich area of east Kent at about ten miles below the surface. There was little if any damage reported. The coastline of Kent is continuously changing, due to tectonic uplift and coastal erosion . Until about 960, the Isle of Thanet was an island, separated by the Wantsum channel , formed around a deposit of chalk; over time, the channels silted up with alluvium . Similarly Romney Marsh and Dungeness have been formed by accumulation of alluvium. Kent's principal river,
5586-800: The Westphalian Sandstone are about 820–1,310 ft (250–400 m) deep, and are subject to flooding. They occur in two major troughs, which extend under the English Channel. Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the epicentres were offshore. In 1382 and 1580 there were two earthquakes exceeding 6.0 on the Richter Scale . In 1776, 1950, and on 28 April 2007 there were earthquakes of around 4.3. The 2007 earthquake caused physical damage in Folkestone. A further quake on 22 May 2015 measured 4.2 on
5700-584: The area is called Cantia or Cantium , while the Anglo-Saxons referred to it as Cent , Cent lond or Centrice . The area was first occupied by early humans , intermittently due to periods of extreme cold, during the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age), as attested by an early Neanderthal skull found in the quarries at Swanscombe . The Medway megaliths were built during the Neolithic era. There
5814-489: The area is required to achieve these objectives; it has been opposed by environmental groups. Kent is one of the warmest parts of Britain. On 10 August 2003, in the hamlet of Brogdale near Faversham the temperature reached 38.5 °C (101.3 °F), at that time the highest temperature ever officially recorded in the United Kingdom. The record still stands as the hottest August day ever recorded. Kent County Council and its twelve district councils administer most of
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#17327661925105928-465: The area's military importance, the first Ordnance Survey map ever drawn was a one-inch map of Kent, published in 1801. Many of the Georgian naval buildings still stand. In the early 19th century, smugglers were very active on the Kent coastline. Gangs such as The Aldington Gang brought spirits, tobacco and salt to the county, and transported goods such as wool across the sea to France. In 1889,
6042-901: The belief that it is nutritionally superior and has a better baking quality than steel-roller-milled flour. It is claimed that, as the stones grind relatively slowly, the wheat germ is not exposed to the sort of excessive temperatures that could cause the fat from the germ portion to oxidize and become rancid, which would destroy some of the vitamin content. Stone-milled flour has been found to be relatively high in thiamin, compared to roller-milled flour, especially when milled from hard wheat. Gristmills only grind "clean" grains from which stalks and chaff have previously been removed, but historically some mills also housed equipment for threshing , sorting, and cleaning prior to grinding. Modern mills are usually "merchant mills" that are either privately owned and accept money or trade for milling grains or are owned by corporations that buy unmilled grain and then own
6156-874: The border between Kent and Sussex (later East Sussex ) ran through the towns of Tunbridge Wells and Lamberhurst . In 1894, by the Local Government Act , the parts of these towns that lay in East Sussex were absorbed by Kent. During the Second World War, much of the Battle of Britain was fought in the skies over Kent. Between June 1944 and March 1945, more than 10,000 V1 flying bombs , or "Doodlebugs", were fired towards London from bases in Northern France . Although many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns and barrage balloons , both London and Kent were hit by around 2,500 of these bombs. After
6270-645: The coast following the raid on the Medway , a successful attack by the Dutch navy on the shipyards of the Medway towns in 1667. The 18th century was dominated by wars with France, during which the Medway became the primary base for a fleet that could act along the Dutch and French coasts. When the theatre of operation moved to the Atlantic , this role was assumed by Portsmouth and Plymouth , with Chatham concentrating on shipbuilding and ship repair. As an indication of
6384-537: The county (3352 km ), whilst the Medway Council administers the more densely populated Medway unitary authority (192 km ), independently of the county council. Together they have around 300 town and parish councils . Kent County Council's headquarters are in Maidstone , while Medway's offices are at Gun Wharf, Chatham . For most of its history since the local government reforms instituted by
6498-611: The county (including Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, and Sevenoaks) has less than 50% of the average claimant count for low incomes or worklessness as the coastal districts of Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, and Thanet (chiefly three resorts: Ramsgate, Broadstairs, and Margate). West and Central Kent have long had many City of London commuters . Kent's geographical location between the Straits of Dover and London has influenced its architecture, as has its Cretaceous geology and its good farming land and fine building clays. Kent's countryside pattern
6612-427: The county today, plus two replica mills and a further two in that part of Kent now absorbed into London. All the major rivers in the county were used to power watermills. From about 1900, several coal pits operated in East Kent. The Kent Coalfield was mined during the 20th century at several collieries, including Chislet, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger, and the Snowdown Colliery, which ran from 1908 to 1986. The west of
6726-411: The county was granted similar powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales and Scotland . During the medieval and early modern period, Kent played a major role in several of England's most notable rebellions, including the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, led by Wat Tyler , Jack Cade 's Kent rebellion of 1450, and Wyatt's Rebellion of 1554 against Queen Mary I . The Royal Navy first used
6840-441: The county. The 2024 election saw a sharp decline in support for the Conservatives, and the county is currently represented by eleven Labour MPs, six Conservatives and one Liberal Democrat. At the 2011 census , Kent, including Medway, had 1,727,665 residents (18.0% of which in Medway); had 711,847 households (17.5% of which in Medway) and had 743,436 dwellings (14.8% of which in Medway). 51.1% of Kent's population excluding Medway
6954-461: The date 1567. TQ 764 556 51°16′20″N 0°31′48″E / 51.272131°N 0.529865°E / 51.272131; 0.529865 Possibly a Domesday site, this mill stood in Water Lane. A dispute over the building of a mill here reached the King's Court in 1313–4. The mill was one of two in Maidstone owned by Christ Church, Canterbury. A 21-year lease was granted by Archbishop Courtenay in 1385 to William Walbelton and Richard Haute. The mill
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#17327661925107068-436: The disadvantage that the speed of rotation of the stone was dependent on the volume and flow of water available and was, therefore, only suitable for use in mountainous regions with fast-flowing streams. This dependence on the volume and speed of flow of the water also meant that the speed of rotation of the stone was highly variable and the optimum grinding speed could not always be maintained. Vertical wheels were in use in
7182-470: The earliest names recorded in Britain, known to the Greeks since the explorer Pytheas recorded it as Kantion during his voyage around the British Isles in about 325 BC. As such, it has been claimed as the "oldest recorded name still in use in England." The meaning has been explained as 'coastal district,' 'corner-land' or 'land on the edge' (Welsh cant 'bordering of a circle, tyre, edge;' Breton cant 'circle;' Dutch kant 'side, edge'). In Latin sources
7296-431: The end of the eighteenth century when he automated the process of making flour. His inventions included the Elevator, wood or tin buckets on a vertical endless leather belt, used to move grain and flour vertically upward; the Conveyor, a wooden auger to move material horizontally; the Hopper Boy, a device for stirring and cooling the newly ground flour; the Drill, a horizontal elevator with flaps instead of buckets (similar to
7410-419: The exposed clay eroded faster than the exposed chalk, greensand, or sandstone. Sevenoaks , Maidstone , Ashford , and Folkestone are built on greensand, while Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are built on sandstone. Dartford , Gravesend , the Medway towns, Sittingbourne , Faversham , Canterbury , Deal , and Dover are built on chalk. The easterly section of the Wealden dome has been eroded away by
7524-521: The first Archbishop of Canterbury . In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. The Diocese of Canterbury became England's first Episcopal See with first cathedral and has since remained England's centre of Christianity. The second designated English cathedral was for West Kent at Rochester Cathedral . Kent was traditionally partitioned into East and West Kent, and into lathes and hundreds . The traditional border of East and West Kent
7638-422: The future of the USSR and at the end of World War Two the peace treaty with Japan was written on Whatman paper. This was a fulling mill. William Pertis was the miller in 1716, having been preceded by George Overy. Pertis sold the mill to William Gill in 1719. The mill had been demolished by 1735 and replaced by six houses known as "The Square". A now demolished cottage nearby was called Fulling Mill House and bore
7752-449: The head waters of other rivers such as the River Darent . Other rivers of Kent include the River Stour in the east. A 2014 study found that Kent shares significant reserves of shale oil with other neighbouring counties, totalling 4.4 billion barrels of oil , which then Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon said "will bring jobs and business opportunities" and significantly help with UK energy self-sufficiency. Fracking in
7866-514: The land to Richard Harris from 1733 to 1736, then William Quelch and John Terry from 1739 to 1741 and John Saunders from 1741 to 1748. He was followed by Henry French from 1749 to 1770. James Whatman Jr inherited the freehold in 1759 and occupied the mill until 1775. He was followed by Clement Taylor as occupier from 1776 to 1791, and by 1794 a Mr Calcraft had acquired the freehold. In 1795, Messrs Balston, Finch, Hollingworth & Co were owner occupiers. In 1824, Messrs Hollingworth, Finch and Thomas were
7980-413: The middle seventeenth century. The building was some 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, 42 feet (12.8 m) long and 35 feet (10.7 m) high. The waterwheel was driven from the lake to the castle. The mill was located between the Outer Barbican and Inner Barbican and the breastshot waterwheel would have been some 10 feet (3.0 m) or 11 feet (3.4 m) diameter and 3 feet (0.9 m) wide. The remains of
8094-456: The mill for his drawings. He wrote in 1797 that it was worth 'a guinea a quire '. J. M. W. Turner also used Whatman paper and William Blake used it for four of his illustrated books. Napoleon wrote his will on Whatman paper and Queen Victoria used it for her personal correspondence. Turkey Mill notepaper was also used in the House of Commons library. In the 1930s Soviet leaders used Whatman paper to publish their five-year plan for
8208-455: The mill was £88 5s 3d . The mill had been converted to a paper mill by 1700. According to Maureen Green, Otham Mill was bought by Thomas Pine in the 1750s and remained in the Pine family until 1837. By the 1830s Otham Paper Mill was occupied by the papermakers at Turkey Mill. A paper making machine was installed, but this was removed to Turkey Mill in 1859, when the mill was converted to house
8322-545: The mill was held by Thomas Bourghchier the Younger. The mill was marked on a map of Leeds Castle dated 1649. In 1748, the waterways and mill pond were marked on a map, but no building. The mill seems to have ceased work sometime after the 1660s, when John Rogers was recorded as a fuller in Leeds. The mill may have had a breastshot or overshot waterwheel. TQ 835 532 51°14′54″N 0°37′49″E / 51.248328°N 0.630317°E / 51.248328; 0.630317 A mill
8436-463: The mill was recorded as a fulling mill in the occupation of John and William Dann. A William Dann, fuller, of Leeds is recorded as having been a bondsman at a wedding in 1640. The fulling mill had gone by 1723. In 1733, Sir Roger Meredith, Baronet, of Leeds Abbey leased land in Hollingbourne to James Whatman with permission to erect a new dwelling house and papermill. Whatman sub-leased part of
8550-597: The mill, the longest by any paper mill in Great Britain. Watermarks The copyright of the 'J Whatman' imprint was transferred to William Balston in 1806 and to the production of Whatman paper at Turkey Mill. In 1859 the 'Turkey Mill' watermark was sold to William Balston's two sons at Springfield Mill, and thereafter paper produced at Turkey Mill was watermarked 'Original Turkey Mill', 'O.T.M.' or 'T & J Hollingworth'. Uses of paper produced at Turkey Mill The artist Thomas Gainsborough used paper produced at
8664-411: The millers from 1930 to 1934. The mill was working until World War II when the axle to the waterwheel broke. Most of the machinery was then scrapped. The mill was sold for house conversion in 1986, at that time only the frame of the waterwheel and pit wheel survived, all other machinery having been removed. Also known as Bearsted Mill, this corn mill was built in 1837. It was still standing in 1939 and
8778-422: The mills. Fulling having apparently been discontinued by this time. William Barber was the miller in the mid-eighteenth century, and Richard Ballard took the mill in 1777. Ballard was still in occupation in 1815, when the mill was marked as Ballard's Mill on a map of the new turnpike from Maidstone to Bearsted. The millpond was some 400 feet (120 m) long and the dam about 7 feet (2.1 m) high, indicating that
8892-541: The motto Invicta , meaning "undefeated" or "unconquered". The adoption of this motto followed the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy , as he was unable to subdue the county and they negotiated favourable terms. The continued resistance of the Kentish people against the Normans led to Kent's designation as a semi-autonomous county palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of William's half-brother Odo of Bayeux ,
9006-499: The newcomers. Of the invading tribes, the Jutes were the most prominent, and the area became a Jutish kingdom recorded as Cantia in about 730 and Cent in 835. The early medieval inhabitants of the county were referred to as the Cantwara , or Kentish people. The city of Canterbury was the largest in Kent. In 597, Pope Gregory I appointed the religious missionary (who became Saint Augustine of Canterbury after his death) as
9120-412: The occupiers. In 1843, John Hollingworth, papermaker, was the occupier. The mill was still a paper mill in 1847 but had been converted to a corn mill by 1852, when the miller was one of R Dawson, E Nye of H Nye (the other two millers being at Eyhorne and Manor mills, Hollingbourne). In 1854, Richard Ashbe and John Bunyar were millers at Mote Hole Mill. William Skinner was the miller in 1855. William Taylor
9234-496: The old wheel mills. In most wheel-driven mills, a large gear-wheel called the pit wheel is mounted on the same axle as the water wheel and this drives a smaller gear-wheel, the wallower , on a main driveshaft running vertically from the bottom to the top of the building. This system of gearing ensures that the main shaft turns faster than the water wheel, which typically rotates at around 10 rpm . The millstones themselves turn at around 120 rpm . They are laid one on top of
9348-414: The other. The bottom stone, called the bed , is fixed to the floor, while the top stone, the runner , is mounted on a separate spindle, driven by the main shaft. A wheel called the stone nut connects the runner's spindle to the main shaft, and this can be moved out of the way to disconnect the stone and stop it turning, leaving the main shaft turning to drive other machinery. This might include driving
9462-408: The overshot waterwheel had a width that exceeded its diameter. Otham Paper Mill was originally built as a fulling mill in 1527. The machinery was to be made by millwright George Jenkyn of Cranbrook, Kent . The mill was to have two overshot waterwheels 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m) in diameter. The contract was signed on 8 January 1527, with the mill to be completed by May Day. Total cost of
9576-494: The ownership of Boxley Abbey. The mill was later converted to papermaking. John Swinnock was the tenant from 1708 to 1728, being followed by William Gill. He was followed by Joseph Cordwell, who was the tenant until 1756. The mill at this time being owned by the Earl of Aylesford. In 1756, the mill was let to Abraham Fearon, a watchmaker from Soho . Clement Taylor was the next tenant, until his death in 1776, followed by his son James as
9690-402: The parishes of Ulcombe , Leeds , Hollingbourne , Boxley and Maidstone. The River Len powered a number of watermills , from source to mouth they were:- TQ 861 523 51°14′22″N 0°40′01″E / 51.239401°N 0.667064°E / 51.239401; 0.667064 A Domesday site, Holme Mill is recorded as Holemiln in 1254 and Holemille in 1332. In 1542 the manor of Polhill
9804-418: The process. Evans himself did not use the term gristmill to describe his automatic flour mill, which was purpose designed as a merchant mill (he used the more general term "water-mill"). In his book his only reference to "grist" (or "grists") is to the small batches of grain a farmer would bring in to have ground for himself (what would be generally called barter or custom milling). In his book, Evans describes
9918-416: The runner stone from the outer rim of the stones and is fed down a chute to be collected in sacks on the ground or meal floor. A similar process is used for grains such as wheat to make flour, and for maize to make corn meal . In order to prevent vibrations from the millstones shaking the building apart, they were usually placed on a separate timber foundation, not attached to the mill walls, known as
10032-584: The sea, and cliffs such as the White Cliffs of Dover are present where a chalk ridge known as the North Downs meets the coast. Spanning Dover and Westerham is the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The Wealden dome is a Mesozoic structure lying on a Palaeozoic foundation, which can often create the right conditions for coal formation. This is found in East Kent roughly between Deal, Canterbury, and Dover. The Coal Measures within
10146-610: The setting for both conflict and diplomacy, including the Battle of Britain in World War II and the Leeds Castle peace talks of 1978 and 2004. England relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of its history; the Cinque Ports in the 10th –14th centuries and Chatham Dockyard in the 16th–20th centuries were of particular importance. France can be seen clearly in fine weather from Folkestone and
10260-506: The substantial sum of £32,000. The Hollingworths were originally in partnership with William Balston, but he withdrew from the partnership in 1805 and set up a new paper mill at Springfield, Maidstone . Ownership of the mill passed from Thomas Hollingworth through his sons and thence through their nieces until eventually Major William Pitt was the sole owner. On his death in 1976 Turkey Mill was bought by Wiggins Teape and closed down, thus ending over 280 years of continuous paper production at
10374-476: The time Coles Finch visited it and was demolished in 1929, although the waterwheel and pentrough by Weeks of Maidstone survive. TQ 849 527 51°14′36″N 0°39′00″E / 51.243384°N 0.650098°E / 51.243384; 0.650098 Chegworth mill is probably not the Domesday mill recorded at Ulcombe. The first reference to Chegworth occurs in 1200. The first definite reference to this mill
10488-605: The use of a conveyor but easier to build); and the Descender, an endless strap (leather or flannel) in a trough that is angled downward, the strap helps to move the ground flour in the trough. Most importantly, he integrated these into a single continuous process, the overall design later becoming known as the Automatic (or Automated) mill. In 1790 he received the third Federal patent for his process. In 1795 he published "The Young Mill-Wright and Miller’s Guide" which fully described
10602-630: The war, Kent's borders changed several more times. In 1965, the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley were created from nine towns formerly in Kent. In 1998, Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham left the administrative county of Kent to form the Unitary Authority of Medway . Plans for another unitary authority in north-west Kent were dropped, but in 2016 consultations began between five Kent local authorities (Canterbury, Thanet, Dover, Folkestone & Hythe, and Ashford) with
10716-475: The waterwheel was breastshot. Ballard's mill was demolished c.1828 and a new mill built downstream. A turbine was installed at the old mill site, and its remains were visible in the late 1960s. TQ 802 547 51°15′46″N 0°35′02″E / 51.262856°N 0.583835°E / 51.262856; 0.583835 This mill was built by the Cage family in the late 1820s on a piece of land called Byfrance, part of
10830-402: The work was completed. The name Turkey Mill was first recorded in 1739. The mill passed to Ann Cripps, who married James Whatman in 1740. thus James Whatman acquired the mill, and it was here that he and his son developed 'wove' paper. Turkey Mill became the largest paper mill in the country. The mill was sold by James Whatman Jr in 1792 to Thomas, Robert and Finch Hollingworth of Maidstone for
10944-449: Was 4 feet (1.2 m) diameter and the other pair of each type was 3 feet 6 inches (1.1 m) diameter. At the top of the upright shaft was a 5-foot-diameter (1.5 m) cast-iron crown wheel. The Blinkhorn family had a long association as millers at the mill, John Blinkhorn being the miller in 1825. J Blinkhorn was the miller in 1852 and John Blinkhorn in 1874. A new waterwheel was fitted after World War I . Marshall Bros were
11058-443: Was Ted Uren, who started at the mill in 1961, and took over from Harold Potter. The mill was house converted c.1990. The present mill was a corn mill and worked until the late 1960s. It has an overshot waterwheel of 10 feet 10 inches (3.3 m) diameter and 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m) wide, made by Weeks of Maidstone . The axle is cast iron and 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (190 mm) square. The pit wheel
11172-522: Was a staple part of the diet. Classical mill designs are usually water-powered , though some are powered by the wind or by livestock. In a watermill a sluice gate is opened to allow water to flow onto, or under, a water wheel to make it turn. In most watermills the water wheel was mounted vertically, i.e., edge-on, in the water, but in some cases horizontally (the tub wheel and so-called Norse wheel ). Later designs incorporated horizontal steel or cast iron turbines and these were sometimes refitted into
11286-456: Was at various times known as Overloppe Mill (1640) and Gill's Mill (1732). Overloppe Mill was sold for £493 by Simon Smythe of Tenterden to John Fletcher of Boxley in 1640. The mill passed to Richard Fletcher in 1657 and then to John Cripps by 1693. Thomas Tolhurst was the fuller from 1640 to 1675. The mill was converted from a fulling mill to a paper mill during the time John Cripps owned it. The mill passed to Dorothy Cripps in 1695. She granted
11400-524: Was derelict by the end of the eighteenth century and subsequently demolished. The mill was rebuilt by James Smythe in 1795 as a paper mill. Smythe was in partnership with the Hollingworth brothers. They acquired the mill and sold it to John Wise and John Hayes in 1799. The mill was marked on Brown & Son's survey of Maidstone, 1821. The mill was demolished in 1874 and a new corn mill built nearby by William Taylor of Chegworth Mill. Kent Kent
11514-634: Was determined by a gavelkind inheritance system that generated a proliferation of small settlements. There was no open-field system, and the large tracts were owned by the two great abbeys, Christ Church, Canterbury and St Augustine's Abbey , that did not pass into the hands of the king during the Reformation . Canterbury Cathedral is the United Kingdom's metropolitan cathedral ; it was founded in AD 598 and displays architecture from all periods. There are nine Anglo-Saxon churches in Kent. Rochester Cathedral
11628-590: Was female — as to Medway, this proportion was 50.4%. The tables below provide statistics for the administrative county of Kent, that is, excluding Medway. At the 2001 UK census , employment statistics for the residents in Kent, including Medway, were as follows: 41.1% in full-time employment, 12.4% in part-time employment, 9.1% self-employed, 2.9% unemployed, 2.3% students with jobs, 3.7% students without jobs, 12.3% retired, 7.3% looking after home or family, 4.3% permanently sick or disabled, and 2.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Of residents aged 16–74, 16% had
11742-410: Was five storeys high. It had an overshot waterwheel of at least 12 feet (3.7 m) diameter and 7 feet (2.1 m) width. It drove six pairs of millstones by lineshaft. The machinery was removed during World War II and the mill demolished c. 1955 . TQ 812 540 51°15′22″N 0°35′42″E / 51.256°N 0.595°E / 51.256; 0.595 This mill was presented to
11856-545: Was in 1317, when the mill was held by John de Cheggeworth. John de Chageworth was recorded at the mill in 1324. The mill was in the ownership of Sir Cheney Culpeper in 1657. It was then known as the Lower Mill. The previous owners were Thomas Hatche and Richard Austen, who had recently sold the mill at that date. John Pecke was the miller. Seventeenth-century millers in Ulcombe include Willia Pettit (1612), Percival Austen (1669), Thomas Sylliborne (1673) and John Baker (1682). It
11970-419: Was in the ownership of John Stede. The mill passed to his son Thomas and then to his son Matthew. The mill was owned by Francis Colepeper Esq at the time of his death in 1590. It was worth 40s per annum then. In 1668 the mill was held by John Ruffen. It was then a fulling mill . Peter Theobalds was the tenant at the time of his death in 1690. About this time the mill was converted to a corn mill . Stephen Weeks
12084-469: Was known as Poll Mill in 1449 (a fulling mill). In 1510 the miller was one of 22 tenants of the Archbishop of Canterbury who considered his rent was excessive and refused to pay. In 1548 it consisted of two wheat mills, two fulling mills, a malt-mill and two potchers. It was known as Paddes Fulling Mill in 1550 and Paddle le Myll in 1608. In 1650, Padsole mill was owned by Sir William Culpeper. The mill
12198-410: Was marked on a map of Leeds Castle dated 1748 on the island which lies above Keeper's Cottage. The site is probably not a Domesday site, and if a mill existed here it disappeared in the late Middle Ages . TQ 820 541 51°15′25″N 0°36′33″E / 51.256894°N 0.609303°E / 51.256894; 0.609303 This mill stood on the parish boundary of Hollingbourne and Leeds. In 1654
12312-527: Was probably typical throughout western and southern Europe. From this time onward, water wheels began to be used for purposes other than grist milling. In England, the number of mills in operation followed population growth, and peaked at around 17,000 by 1300. Limited extant examples of gristmills can be found in Europe from the High Middle Ages . An extant well-preserved waterwheel and gristmill on
12426-408: Was recorded at Broomfield in the Domesday book. This predated the building of a mill by either Robert de Crevecoeur or his son Hamo de Crevecoeur in 1100. Originally built as a corn mill, there is some evidence that it had been converted to a fulling mill by 1368. This being the work of Thomas Burgeys of Smarden . The surviving mill building dates from the early thirteenth century and fell out of use in
12540-442: Was still the owner in 1689, when the mill was in the occupation of William Tompkin and had previously been in the occupation of Bob Potter. Potter remained in occupation until at least 1707. Hasted noted the mill was still working in 1798 and Greenwood's map of 1822 marks the mill as Shilling Mill . The mill probably had a breastshot waterwheel as the head was not sufficient for an overshot wheel. Fulling Mill had ceased to be used as
12654-537: Was the county's main river, the Medway . Men and women from east of the Medway are Men (or Maids) of Kent, those from the west are Kentishmen or Kentish Maids. The divide has been explained by some as originating in the Anglo-Saxon migrations, with Jutes mainly settling east of the Medway and Saxons settling west of it. In the 11th century, the people of Kent (or Chenth , per the Domesday Book ) adopted
12768-469: Was the miller at Old Mill in 1874. George Stephen Kingsnorth was miller at Mote Hole Mill in 1895, followed by the Medway Milling Co in 1907. In 1908, the mill was being used to grind cocoa beans . Edward Weller was the miller in 1913. The mill had probably ceased work by 1922 and was idle by 1928. The mill gearing had been jammed by a baulk of timber, jamming the machinery by that date. Old Mill
12882-462: Was the miller from 1700 to 1726, followed by his son John. He was followed by his son Thomas. Thomas Knight leased the mill for 21 years from 1779. He was followed by George Cronk and then John Brazier and Thomas Martin, who was the miller in 1824. In 1847 John Bunger was the miller, followed by William and Thomas Taylor in 1855. In 1895, the mill was in the occupation of Miller Bros, followed by Mrs Rhoda Vinson from 1907 to 1913. The mill had collapsed by
12996-508: Was the owner at this time. Thomas Willett leased the mill in 1792 and in 1800 Chegworth Mill, otherwise Pendmill was mortgaged by Willett. The mill was recorded as Checqworth Mill on the 1801 Ordnance Survey map. John Taylor was the miller in 1847, followed by G Craddock in 1852, J Gilbert, William and Thomas Taylor in 1854, Mrs M Cradduck, J Gilbert and Thomas Taylor 1855 – 1861, Charles Wicks in 1874, Alfred Wick 1895 – 1907, and Frederick James Potter 1930 – 1934. The last miller
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