Anyone who knows of Tony and Mary Yoward’s detailed research on the mills and millers of Hampshire, will be delighted by the appearance of this book, published this month and edited by Ashok Vaidya. Tony and Ashok between them have created a valuable reference source for mills and family historians.
All proceeds go to the Hampshire Mills Group, who deserve every penny and are promising two more books in the series. This one can be bought on the HMG website or from the Mills Archive Bookshop at http://shop.millsarchivetrust.org/
The publisher points out:
This first volume covers the central area, including mills on the Rivers Itchen, Hamble and Meon, as well as tide and spring fed mills.
The concept for this book is to make available in a convenient and easily accessed way some of the mass of historical data held in our records, and to put it into context with what is there now. Also to do this in a way that is attractive to all readers, whether you have an interest in the landscape and industrial heritage of the county, are a mill expert or are really focussed on tracing family history.
The Archivist of the Hampshire Mills Group (HMG) Tony Yoward, and his late wife Mary, researched and collected information about the mills and the millers for many years. Their work has been supplemented by contributions from other members of the HMG, and in earlier times the Southampton University Industrial This is a most comprehensive compendium of information about the mills, the millers and mill owners. The book covers seventy two mills, and over 500 millers are identified and 300 research references are listed in its 160 full colour pages.
Sources include Insurance company policies, church and civic records, local newspaper archives and personal knowledge, and the reference to the source is given.
There are articles on Hampshire and its Mills, an introduction to the watermill, the work of the Hampshire Mills Group and colourful maps of the rivers of the county.
The Hon Ralph Montagu has kindly written a foreword. His estate at Beaulieu has a tide mill, which will be included in a later volume.