Watermill, Olney

A water-powered mill in the historic county of Buckinghamshire, England.

See related images and documents.
See images only.

On the Great Ouse, a mill existed at Olney at Domesday. By 1343-4 there were two, but only one in 1411-2. These details were quoted by Stanley Freese from “Olney Past and Present” by O Ratcliff and H Brown. In the 1800s there was a succession of millers. Then in1878 there was a disastrous fire leaving a black and charred mass containing half-burnt sacks of wheat. The present mill was created from the half-burnt ruins. For some years a 45 horsepower suction gas engine drove a roller mill, but in 1906 the mill was remodelled and when visited by Freese in the 1930s was working entirely by water. There were two breast wheels, each about 12 ft diameter and each designed to drive five pairs of stones. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1965, though the mill house remains.

Full details

Location

References

• Anthony Bryan, Mills Research Group Database
• Farley, Michael, Edward Legg and James Venn (Ed), The Watermills of Buckinghamshire: A 1930s account by Stanley Freese with original photographs (Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society, 2007)

Missing information? Click here to tell us about this mill.