Description

HAWNBY

1028/0/10003 NR. MAIN LANE
31-OCT-06 ARDEN MILL

II*
Water-powered corn mill. Equipped in the early 18th century to supply Arden Hall. Rubble stone with new pantile roof covering, containing mainly timber machinery.

PLAN and INTERIOR
Three bay single storey mill building, with the smoke bay of the former miller's house extending to the north. Enclosed waterwheel pit occupies the southern bay with access through the gable wall. Wheel pit houses overshot wheel fed from the west, discharging via culverted tailrace to east. Remaining two bays, separated from the waterwheel by an eves height stone wall with roof truss above, form a single room accessed from outside via a porch at the north end of the east wall, with access to the former miller's house through the north gable. Oat roaster built into the east wall of the north bay with an external fire stoke hole. Mill machinery occupies the central bay with a timber platform (or hurst) forming a mezzanine floor for the millstones. Above and below this mezzanine is lit by two windows in the east wall and one in the west, the latter perhaps serving as a loading access. Loft area in the north bay accessed from mezzanine.

Roof structure of the mill building retains two cruck trusses with staggered purlins, trenched with the northern truss, supported by cleats with the southern truss. Rafters are modern.

Ground floor surfacing of cobbles and flagstones includes at least one fragment of a former millstone.

Surviving portion of the former miller's house consists of a smoke bay including an inglenook fireplace with chamfered bressumer beam and salt box. Roof and external gable wall modern.

MACHINERY
Mill machinery nearly complete, but no longer operable. Early 18th century layout with a pair of grey stones (5 feet (1.5m) diameter millstone grit) driven off the waterwheel shaft and a pair of blue stones (3.5 feet (1.1m) German lava) driven via gearing and a counter shaft. Most of the gearing is timber but includes some mid 19th century cast iron replacement. Machinery includes lighter staff (lever arrangement for controlling the separation of the millstones) and most of the mechanism for the oat roaster (designed to stir oats on a metal roasting plate to prevent burning). Overshot waterwheel is 14 feet (4.3m) diameter by 2 feet (0.6m), of clasp arm construction in timber with timber buckets.

HISTORY
Mill site is believed to be medieval in origin, serving St Andrew's Priory (the Benedictine nunnery at Arden), hinted at in 1189 and certainly documented in 1536. Current mill thought to have been refurbished by Charles Tankred in the early 18th century, around the time of the expansion of Arden Hall in 1700-1710 to supply fine flour for the hall. In 1846 William Megginson, then the miller, is documented as carrying out repairs, he is also believed to have made some modifications to the mill machinery in the 1850s possibly to allow the milling of barley for animal feed. The mill ceased working in 1912.

SUBSIDIARY ITEMS
The water management system for the mill included two dams, (the stone lined overflow channel for the lower dam can be seen buried in the current riverbank) and a culverted tailrace. Adjacent to the tailrace is a water closet, a small stone building with a hipped roof of stone slates.

SOURCES
'Eight Centuries of Milling in North East Yorkshire' J Harrison, 2001 (North York Moors National Park)
'The Rise of the White Loaf' J Harrison, 2005 (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Mills Section)

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE
Arden Mill is of special interest as a water-powered corn mill of possibly medieval origin that retains a near-complete set of early 18th century mill machinery with only minor mid-19th century modifications and repairs. Additionally, it is believed to be a unique survival in a national context of a two-stage gearing arrangement developed in the early 18th century for milling high quality fine flour for the production of white bread, then fashionable in high society. It also retains other nationally-rare surviving features such as a lighter staff (a lever for controlling the fineness of the flour) and an oat roaster. Despite having been re-roofed, the mill building is substantially complete retaining original openings and such features as original floor surfaces. The surviving evidence of associated features such as the water management system further enhances the special interest of the building, and thus Arden Mill is considered to fully meet the criteria for listing at the higher grade of II*, in view of the rarity and early date of the mill machinery, and the degree of completeness of the mill site.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17540672

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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