River Loddon - Milling

Milling

The river has provided the power for a number of water mills along its course. At Twyford, there have been mills since at least 1365, and a silk mill was built in 1810. Silk worms thrive on mulberry trees, and Queen Elizabeth I had encouraged planting of them during her reign. The Wokingham area was known for its production of silk stockings, and Thomas and George Billing, who were from Macclesfield and were brothers, hoped to create a profitable business processing the silk. The spun silk was woven on looms set up in cottages, and for a while the Billings were reasonably successful, although labour costs were kept down by employing children who should have been at Polehampton School. The law changed to allow silk to be imported more freely from France, and only mills equipped with up-to-date equipment could compete. Thomas died in 1824, and the mill was sold to become a flour mill soon afterwards. The wooden building was burnt down in a fire in 1891. A new mill was built, and in 1927 was bought by Berks, Bucks and Oxon Farmers Ltd, a group of farmers who operated as a co-operative to mill animal feed. The mill was powered by water wheels and diesel engines until the early 1960s, when it was converted to use electric motors. A distribution warehouse was added in 1969, but another fire destroyed the building in 1976, and construction of a new mill was completed in 1979. The owners became bankrupt in the 1990s, and in 2001 the site was redeveloped for housing. Although none of it is original, much of the building has four storeys, as did the pre-1976 building, and incorporates cosmetic features to suggest the previous use of the site.

Sandford Mill was used for milling feed for animals until the 1950s, and was powered by two waterwheels. It is known to have existed during the English Civil War, as it was mentioned in reports. Following a period of disuse, it has been converted into a residence. The main structure of Sindlesham Mill dates from the late 1800s, but it may incorporate part of an earlier structure, as some of the timbers are much older than that. It used a turbine rather than a water wheel to generate its power, and was owned by the Reading-based Simmonds family, who were involved in banking and brewing. Later, it was acquired by Garfield Weston, and produced flour for the biscuit manufacturer Huntley & Palmers until the 1960s. It is now part of a hotel complex.

Milling had been performed at Arborfield since at least 1500, as foundations dating to that time were discovered in 1953. The mill was originally a grist mill, used for grinding corn or flour, but George Dawson converted it to a paper mill. A Mr. Hodgson was the paper maker in 1787, and in 1794 the business was auctioned as a going concern. In 1826, the large water wheel powered a 48-inch (120 cm) paper making machine. Three years later there was a fire at the mill, and another in 1861. Output from the mill included fine brown paper. Mrs Hargreaves, the owner of Arborfield Hall, is thought to have demolished part of the mill some time after 1861, but it was offered for sale again in 1919, and at the time included a 40-horsepower (30 kW) water wheel and a 28-horsepower (21 kW) turbine. Pumps and a dynamo supplied water and electricity to the hall, and powered the machinery on the farm. In the 1840s or 1850s, an engine house was built near the mill, which housed a Barrett, Exall & Andrews steam engine, which was manufactured in Reading. Two steam engines later powered the paper mill. The mill was owned by Guthrie Allsebrook from the 1920s, who hoped to supply water to the local authority, because he also owned the water rights. The ground floor of the building still exists, and was in use by Thames Water in 2004.

Records show that milling was taking place near Sherfield on Loddon in 1274, when the miller was called John. There is also reference to a water mill in 1316, and a document recording holdings passed to the Manor in 1601 listed two water mills, a fulling mill and another mill. By 1819, there were two water wheels at the Longbridge mill, which powered four pairs of grinding wheels. By the end of the Second World War, the mill was producing animal feed, and continued to use water power until 1950. Commercial operation of the mill ceased in 1977, and it was damaged by fire in 1991. Restoration of the damaged building began soon afterwards, and was completed in 1997. Since then the mill has been operated on an occasional basis by the Hampshire Mills Group, and is used to grind flour on open days. The building dates from the seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries, and is a listed building.

The mill at Stanfordend, to the north of Stratfield Saye Park, has been disused since the 1930s. Power was generated by the use of three turbines, rather than a water wheel. It is owned by the Duke of Wellington's estate, who had plans in 2000 to restore it to working condition. Hartley Mill, located on the Lyde just above its junction with the Loddon, is now a residence, but the water wheel has been retained, and can be seen from the dining room. The Lower Mill at Old Basing is a four-storey building dating from the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and is grade II listed. Old Basing mill is another four-storey building, which still contained much of the original machinery in 2000, although it is not operational.