Winchester City Mill | |
---|---|
Type | Watermill |
Location | Water Lane, Winchester |
Coordinates | 51°03′40″N1°18′28″W / 51.06099°N 1.30788°W |
OS grid reference | SU 48615 29316 |
Area | Hampshire |
Built | 1744 |
Owner | National Trust |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | 1, Water Lane |
Designated | 24 March 1950 |
Reference no. | 1095347 |
The Winchester City Mill is a restored water mill situated on the River Itchen in the centre of the ancient English city of Winchester. The mill is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade II* listed building. [1]
The mill was recorded, milling corn, in the Domesday Book of 1086. However, there are earlier references going back to 932 in the cathedral records. In 989 Queen Aelfthryth, Queen of England, had passed the mill to the nuns of Wherwell Abbey. Dendrochronological measurements date some of the timbers to the 11th Century. [2]
It was originally known as Eastgate Mill because it lay just outside the east gate of the city of Winchester, but was renamed City Mill when it was given to the city by Queen Mary following her marriage to Philip II of Spain at Winchester Cathedral in 1554 [3] The mill was last rebuilt in 1744 by James Cook, a tanner. A sketch made by the artist J.M.W Turner in 1795 shows that the building and millraces today are relatively unchanged. [3]
In 1820 the Corporation sold the mill to John Benham whose family owned the mill until the early 1900s. During the late 1890s, City Mill struggled financially owing to competition from adjacent mills at Durngate [4] and Wharf Hill, [5] and had ceased operation by 1910. The mill was used as a laundry during World War I, then became derelict. In 1928 the building was at risk of demolition; [6] but it was saved by a group of benefactors who bought the mill and presented it to the National Trust. In 1931 the mill was leased to the Youth Hostels Association for use as a hostel, a usage that continued until 2005. [3]
In 2004, a 12-year restoration program came to a successful conclusion, and after a hiatus of at least 90 years the mill again milled flour by water power. The water wheel has subsequently been run daily throughout the year with flour milling demonstrations at weekends. The mill building also houses a National Trust cafe and shop. [7]
In partnership with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency, night-vision cameras have been set up to monitor the river passing under the mill and record images of otters passing through. Recordings of sightings are played back on a monitor in the stone floor area. [8]
Hampshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wiltshire to the north-west. The city of Southampton is the largest settlement.
Winchester is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is 60 miles (97 km) south-west of London and 14 miles (23 km) from Southampton, its nearest city. At the 2021 census, the built-up area of Winchester had a population of 48,478. The wider City of Winchester district includes towns such as Alresford and Bishop's Waltham and had a population of 127,439 in 2021. Winchester is the county town of Hampshire and contains the head offices of Hampshire County Council.
Romsey is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Southampton, 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Winchester and 17 miles (27 km) southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of its eastern edge. The population of Romsey was 14,768 at the 2011 census.
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The River Itchen in Hampshire, England, rises to the south of New Alresford and flows 26 miles (42 km) to meet Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge. The Itchen Navigation was constructed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to enable barges to reach Winchester from Southampton Docks, but ceased to operate in the mid-19th century and is largely abandoned today.
New Alresford or simply Alresford is a market town and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It is 8.0 miles (12.9 km) northeast of Winchester and 12 miles (20 km) southwest of the town of Alton.
Botley is a historic village in Hampshire, England, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Southampton. It was developed as a natural crossing point for the River Hamble, and received its first market charter from Henry III in 1267. The village grew on the success of its mills, its coaching inns, and more recently strawberries, and was described as "the most delightful village in the world" by 18th century journalist and radical politician William Cobbett.
The River Loddon is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises at Basingstoke in Hampshire and flows northwards for 28 miles (45 km) to meet the Thames at Wargrave in Berkshire. Together, the Loddon and its tributaries drain an area of 400 square miles (1,036 km2).
Whitchurch is a town in the borough of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, 13 miles (21 km) south of Newbury, Berkshire, 12 miles (19 km) north of Winchester, 8 miles (13 km) east of Andover and 12 miles (19 km) west of Basingstoke. Much of the town is a Conservation Area. Because of the amount of wildlife in and near the River Test, its course and banks are designated as Site of Special Scientific Interest. Whitchurch markets itself as a gateway to the North Wessex Downs National Landscape; the third largest of Britain's National Landscapes.
Houghton Mill is a water mill located on the Great Ouse in the village of Houghton, Cambridgeshire, England. It is a National Trust property and a Grade II* listed building.
A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way gate, and this gate closes automatically when the tide begins to fall. When the tide is low enough, the stored water can be released to turn a water wheel.
Bursledon Windmill is a Grade II* listed windmill in Bursledon, Hampshire, England which has been restored to working order.
The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a 20-mile (32 km) continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming. Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned by the National Trust. The River Wey Navigation connects to the Basingstoke Canal at West Byfleet, and the Godalming Navigation to the Wey and Arun Canal near Shalford. The navigations consist of both man-made canal cuts and adapted parts of the River Wey.
The Itchen Navigation is a 10.4-mile (16.7 km) disused canal system in Hampshire, England, that provided an important trading route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton for about 150 years. Improvements to the River Itchen were authorised by act of parliament in 1665, but progress was slow, and the navigation was not declared complete until 1710. It was known as a navigation because it was essentially an improved river, with the main river channel being used for some sections, and cuts with locks used to bypass the difficult sections. Its waters are fed from the River Itchen. It provided an important method of moving goods, particularly agricultural produce and coal, between the two cities and the intervening villages.
Eling Tide Mill, situated on an artificial causeway in Eling in Hampshire, England, is one of only two remaining operating tide mills in the United Kingdom. The other is Woodbridge Tide Mill in Suffolk. Whilst a mill is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, there is no evidence that there is any connection to the present mill. The current mill was rebuilt roughly two hundred years ago after storm damage in the 1770s. Eling Tide Mill is the focal point of The Eling Tide Mill Experience, created in 2009 as The Eling Experience when the tide mill, nearby Totton & Eling Heritage Centre, and the outdoor walks at Goatee Beach and Bartley Water came under the same management and marketing. The site adopted the current name in 2018 when it reopened after a 3-year refurbishment project largely funded by the Lottery Fund. It is a Grade II* listed building.
Oldland Windmill is an 18th-century post mill situated near the village of Keymer, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade II Listed Building.
Crux Easton wind engine is a Grade II listed Titt wind engine, used as a windpump, at Crux Easton, Hampshire, England, which has been restored to working order.
Itchen Stoke and Ovington is an English civil parish consisting of two adjoining villages in Hampshire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Alresford town centre in the valley of the River Itchen, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Winchester, and 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Itchen Abbas.
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