Hello everyone, I would just like to have a little investigation into one of our Heritage Partner mills because it is important to remember that without the support and the funding from these partners, the Mills Archive would not be striving forwards with the strength it has today. I’m going to write a bit about the mill itself and about some interesting things there that you can check out!
Eling Tide Mill is on the edge of Totton and Eling, just outside New Forest. It is on the west side of the northern end of Southampton Water on the South Coast of Great Britain. See a map here:
It is not known exactly when the mill was first built, but there is a reference to it in the Domesday Book, which contains a survey of all of England in 1086 AD. It is suggested that it might even go back to Roman times (c.200-400 AD), but the only way to find this evidence is by digging underneath the mill and its dam. The mill would have been owned by the Lord of the Manor of Eling, which originally would have been the King of England. However, King John sold the manor and the mill in the early 1200s and in 1382 AD, the mill was bought by the Bishop of Winchester and given to a school – Winchester College, who owned the mill until 1975.
So what does this mill actually do? When the tide comes in, and the mill pond is full, the wheel will slowly start to turn and when the flooding tide reaches the axle, the wheel stops. When the tide has dropped to well below the waterwheel axle, the sluice gate can be raised, a blade of water from the millpond strikes the lower blades of the waterwheel, spinning it round, allowing milling to begin. As the tide falls clear of the wheel, the mill starts to work and continues to do so until the tide has reached the wheel again and the drag slows the mill down again. Here are some useful diagrams that I found on the Eling Tide Mill website to show how it works here:
Eling Tide Mill produces three flours from grain grown a few miles away on the Cadland Monor Estate in the New Forest. This just shows how authentic and personal the product of this mill is, all grown, made and sold in the same area for over a century.
This mill is really amazing and its history must be preserved. With the invention of the large steam-powered roller mills, by 1936, all of the tidal powered machinery had broken and there was no money left to fix it. The mill was eventually abandoned until 1975 when it was bought by New Forest District Council. They saw the mill as a historical monument that needed to be restored and preserved and after some serious work, the mill reopened in 1980. The mill is now run by Totton and Eling Town Council who took over on 1st January 2009.
Restoration is important but what I think is great about the Eling Mill is that while some of it has been restored, some parts have been left untouched so that people can go and see the machinery first hand and experience how dangerous and strenuous working at the mill was before the modern safety screens were introduced.
This is a photo I found on the Eling Tide Mill website.
Opposite the Mill is the Heritage Centre where until recently you could travel through the history of Totton and Eling. There was a display of Thomas Mydlington signing the lease of the Eling Mill in the 15th century and you could see a 3000 year old Bronze Age dagger found in Testwood Lakes.
The Eling Tide Mill has been given a £1.3mil grant and so the Tide Mill, Heritage Centre and Tea Rooms are now closed for refurbishment this year but please look out for it in 2016 when it reopens.
The reason I want to keep drawing your attention to the Heritage Partner Mills is because I want to emphasise the importance they hold for everyone here at the Mills Archive. I can see that working here is a HUGE team effort and everyone supports each other. With more and more visitors and educational experiences, I hope the sustainable Eling Mill will continue to run for a long time to come and I am looking forward to seeing what 2016 has in store!