Mill, Mill House & Cottage: The Mill, Mill House and Mill Cottage are situated down by the river Avon. Because their history is so lengthy this page encompasses what came to be known as the Harvington Mill Estate. The estate was divided up into several components sometime after 1964.
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

The ownership of the mill, Mill House and Mill Cottage have been separate since the 1960s and the mill now lies in a derelict condition. It is believed that it has not functioned as a mill since late Victorian times and its future is now uncertain. The mill house and cottage complex share a brighter future and are very well maintained since the 1980s with additional properties added by their owners Simon and Jane Greenhalgh.

'I live in the mill, God bless her!
She's kindred, child and wife;
I would not change my station
for any other life.'
                                    The Jolly Miller.

It is not known when a mill was first established on the site. There is a cropmark encircling a raised area to the east of Mill Cottage, which suggests that there has been human activity/settlement in the vicinity for a very long time. The first proof of a mill on the site is in the Domesday Book under Harvington with the reference: 'A mill at 10s'.

It is hard to envisage what must have been successive mills and dozens of millers and their families who have inhabited the mill for what has to be over a thousand years, along with the associataed workers, their trades and transport, much of which would have trundled up and down Mill and Anchor Lane. We know the names of very few of these people, only really getting and idea of them in the 19th century. As for the mills and millers houses we have a similar lack of knowledge. Before the present mill and mill house were built in around 1800, we have little knowledge of previous buildings except that they had to have existed. The foloowing sketch by Charles Showell of the long gone offenham mill gives one a good idea of the type of construction that once existed on the site prior to the present Harvington Mill; timber and thatched construction on local Blue Lias stone. As for owners and leaseholders our story begins with the Rupe family in 1143.


Showell's sketch of Offenham Mill.

Rupe Family
In 1143 the mill was granted by Prior David (of Worcester) to William Rupe at a rent of 10 shillings a year and 'thirty stitches of eels', a stitch is 25.

The origin of this family may have been Norman with an Oliver de Rupe in Normandy circa 1200. Other incidences occur in Cornwall/Devon and the old South Hams family of Roope is believed to stem from Rupe. In Nash's History of Worcestershire there is mention of an Alardus Ruppe clerk. Nash also records that in a Commission by Pope Gregory to the Priors of Malvern and Astley, Sir Thomas Rupe of Hereforton was accused by the Prior and monks of Worcester of reserving the tithes of his 'demeans' in Hereforton, and that "He promised that the Priory should quietly enjoy the said tithes, and that neither himself, or his attendants should molest them therein. For the performance of which he bound himself, his heirs and successors, in a penalty of 100s". The above suggests that the Rupes were also tenant Lords of the Manor of Harvington under lease from the Abbey at Worcester.

The Rupes were clearly around for some time as his descendant Thomas Rupe was involved in a law-suit with Richard and Hugh Sandford. It was settled by the Sandford family holding the mill in exchange for other lands. This above suggests that here was a change of ownership/leasehold from Rupe to Sandford.

We move on to 1294 where Marjorie Bailey in her history, who also records the paragraph, that

". . . Another mill? was the subject of litigation in 1294. Possibly this refers to "in 1294-5 an agreement made between William Lench and Alice, his wife, and Henry de Chester, John his son and Henry Austyn concerning the mills in Harvington. These may have been those acquired by the Prior of Worcester from Henry Austyn in 1311."

The above is interesting for a number of reasons: it records that in at this time there were two mills, a fact noted in the deeds of Mill House from 1751 onwards. It also gives us some more names to chew on: William and Alice Lench, a surname associated with the nearby Lenches; Henry and John Chester; Henry Austin, and it appears that the leasehold of the mill is reverting back to the Abbey via the Prior of Worcester. It is difficult here to distinguish the tenancy or ownership of the mill and the actual miller.

Owing to the value of the mill to the village as a whole and the skill of the miller, he was held in respect. It is at present only in the 1750s when we begin to distinguish the actual miller from the leaseholder of the mill although this could be one and the same.

1549 and George Willoughby
Marjorie Bailey records that

". . . At the Dissolution of the monasteries both mills passed to the Dean & Chapter at Worcester. Then in 1549 sold both to George Willoughby then lord of the manor of Netherton (in Devon). One of the mills was repaired with stones from Evesham Abbey."
It is important to empathise with the above statement that in 1549, unlike the rest of Harvington, the mills passed out of the hands of the Dean and Chapter at Worcester and became freehold property at this early date.

We do not know how George Willoughby got to know of Harvington Mill or why he purchased the property. George Willoughby was the illegitimate son of Robert 2nd Lord Willoughby de Broke. He acquired Netherton manor/Hall near Newton Abbot, Devon in the same year and there is much of him on the Internet. He did not enjoy his possessions long as he died at Netherton on the 8th August 1550 leaving a wife and several children including his young son and heir. She subsequently re-married and at present it is not known what happened to his estate, including our mill.

In 1588 there was a major flood of the Avon at Bidford which inundated several houses and destroyed or at least severely damaged the mills then on the river. This event would almost certainly have affected the mill settlement at Harvington.

In 1592 the Parish Registers record that an un-named child was borne at the mill and was buryed unbaptized.

1637 William Sandys made the Avon navigable. This is referred to in Charles Showell's book on 'Shakespeare's Avon'. According to Showell, William Sandys of Fladbury put up a great deal of money to make the Avon navigable from Stratford to Tewkesbury. This would have caused considerable change because of the number of mills and fords on the Avon. This is likely the time when a lock was erected and the weir raised to allow the passage of boats, thereby opening up river trade for our mills. It appears from the deeds that the lock was repaired around or before 1780. In the mid-19th century GWR acquired the waterway, and not wishing for competition allowed the locks to decay and by 1901 they were derelict; only in recent times was the Avon opened up again for river traffic and in our case a whole new lock was built. The original lock is still to be seen and is now used as a dry dock.

The deeds of Mill House commence in 1751, by which time the property was known as 'Harvington Mill Estate'. Deeds are not interested in buildings and their structures, they are interested in and deal with property transactions so the story at this stage is mostly concerned with people and only occasional glimpses of the buildings. But from the start in 1751 they spell out that there are two water corn mills, a messuage or tenement with various outbuildings including a forge. The Forge was later applied to the messuage and is assumed to have been the former residence of the miller. Three islands are named as 'Concroft ait', 'Round Ait' & 'Mill Ait'. It is unfortunate that the plans we have do not indicate which ait is which although Mill Ait seems to be self-explanatory; and maybe Concroft with its 'croft' implies where the house/forge was positioned.

1751-1793 - Thomas Handy, Charles Oldaker and Francis Allcock
The earliest quoted documents are leases and releases recording transactions between Thomas Handy of Outhill in the parish of Studley, tanner, Charles Oldaker of Cleeve Prior miller and Francis Allcock of Fladbury miller. Thomas Handy was the only son & heir of Thomas Handy then late of North & Middle Littleton, yeoman by Hannah Eyres. Thomas held the property in mortgage for £450 with a yearly lease of £34. We do not know how Thomas Handy had acquired the mills but he does appear to be selling them. The same document also records his tenant as Joseph Smith. The suggestion here is that Joseph Smith was the miller for Thomas Handy and presumably lived near the mill. Thomas Handy died on 10th April 1803 aged around 80. He appointed his wife Nanny, Philip Handy of Croule and others as executors to his will.

In 1751 Charles Oldaker of Cleeve Prior miller and Francis Allcock of Fladbury miller became owners of Harvington Mill. The property consisted of a messuage or tenement, together with all outhouses, edifices, buildings, Neights [aits], meadow, pasture ground, ways, water, watercourses, boats, stanks, floodgates, fish & easements and ground thereto adjoining called the 'Crow Croft' (Concroft), mills called 'Harvington Mills' and appurtenances. It is assumed that Charles Oldaker and Frances Allcock were partners in Harvington Mill.

Francis Allcock died in October 1765. He left four daughters as co-heiresses viz: Mary wife of Revd Hudson Boyce of Fladbury; Joyce wife of Thomas Fretwell of Upton Hole, Blockley, yeoman; Frances wife of Charles Oldaker of Fladbury, mealman; Elizabeth Allcock was unmarried.

Charles Oldaker senior, those wife was Elizabeth Allcock, died in March 1776 leaving his son William Oldaker sole executor. By 15th June 1780 William Oldaker then of Stratford upon Avon miller and mealman had become sole leaseholder and was in possession and seized of Harvington Mill.

On 19/20th June 1780 William Oldaker, his wife Avis on the one part and William's brother Charles the younger of the 2nd part was taking on a mortgage from a John Purser on the messuage or tenement called 'The Forge' plus the 'two water mills etc. 'commonly called Harvington Mills, all land appertaining, now with the extra description of Cowcroft/concroft, the Round Ait and the Mill Ait. The mills described as for grinding corn or grain and with a yearly rent of 40s. Plus a presumably recently repaired lock.

The above paragraph gives us some interesting and perhaps important information that a lock had been recently erected and also the first mention that the messuage was called 'The Forge'.

On 1751 a tenant named Joseph Smith is recorded. Is he of the same family as John Smith who was named in 1780 as tenant. John Smith, is still in possession in 1786. This individual was most likely to be the John Smith of Winchcombe who married Lydia and was the father of Edmund Smith the subsequent tenant and owner of the mill, of whom later.

In 1786 the description of the estate is: One messuage, 2 mills, 2 acres of land, 5 acres of meadow 5 acres of Pasture - 40 shillings rent & free fishing in ye River Avon with the appurtenances. In the following years is the mention of an allotment awarded to Elizabeth Marshall and also to John Walford Marshall, who later became owner of Harvington Mills.

An indenture of Assurance in 1786 was a transaction between the above John Purser of the 1st part, Charles Oldaker of the 2nd and a Joseph Phipps of Cropthorne of the 3rd part. Joseph Phipps died on 28th May 1816 after appointing his wife Elizabeth and nephew John Hemming of Bricklehampton gentleman & Francis Oldaker of Pershore gentleman as executors. An item in the same section deals with the transfer of the estate from Charles Oldaker to Joseph Phipps but this is probably dealing with a mortgage.

On 10th & 11th May 1790 we have further transactions in leases between Samuel Charles of Cleeve Prior and Ann his wife and Katherine Acton of Bengeworth. She was a widow and likely to have been a mortgagee. In the same document it states that "All said Messuage Mill & Premises by the same description as in last Indenture save with the addition that the said Premises were lately bought & purchased by said [Samuel] Charles" from [Charles] Oldaker and was then in the occupation by Edmund Smith.

1790-1793 - John Barnes
From this stage the surviving property deeds are extant.

Both Katherine Acton and now John Barnes of Tewkesbury figure prominently in the deeds from 8/9th April 1793 until 1798. It appears that the new leaseholder was John Barnes while Edmund Smith continued to occupy the Harvington Mill Estate. Another indenture of 10/11th April 1798 suggests that Edmund Smith miller had taken on a leasehold with the help of a Thomas Smith of Winchcombe baker.

1793-1818 - Edmund Smith
The above mentioned indenture of 1798 also gives us a major clue as to what at this time was happening on the ground with the statement 'for the purchase of premises & of the buildings erected by said Samuel Charles thereon at the sum of £1800 out of which the said sum of £840 was to be paid to said Barnes. From this it appears that Samuel Charles had pumped into the estate a considerable sum of money which had obviously raised the value of the property. The big question here is what had been erected by Samuel Charles?

The property description in 1798 is: "All that the said Messuage or Tenement then or theretofore called the Forge And also all those the said 2 water corn mills called or known by the name of Harvington Mills with their appurtenances situate in Harvington aforesaid in or near to the River Avon and the ground & soil whereon the said Messuage & Mills stand And also all those the said several Closes Pieces or Parcels of land called by the several names of the Concroft the Round Ait & the Mill Ait containing by estimation 5 acres or thereabouts to the same more or less And also all that allotment or free of Land situate in the Old Ware [weir] in Harvington aforesaid lately awarded to the said Charles Oldaker as therein recited containing 1 rood 34 perches and all that the said Lock the water Ground & Soil thereof belonging to the mills And also all Toll rent & custom of grinding of Corn & Grain And also all that the said yearly rent of 40 shillings payable by the owner or owners of the upper part of the Navigation on the said River Avon for the use of the Ground on which & the water in which the said Lock is erected And also all that the said free fishing in the River Avon to said Mills belonging or appertaining And also all & every the buildings erected or made on the said premises or on any part thereof. . .".

10th April 1817 Indenture of Demise
In !817 and 1818 was another moment when the deeds become active. As stated above Joseph Phipps died on 28th May 1816 after appointing his wife Elizabeth and nephew John Hemming of Bricklehampton gentleman & Francis Oldaker of Pershore gentleman as executors.

The above Indenture of Demise appears to be concerned with a mortgage between Edmund Smith and Nathaniel Hartland, John Ellis Hartland and Nathaniel Hartland the younger of Evesham bankers and a floating account Edmund Smith had with them. The document again describes the Mill Estate and also the paper mill lease by John Gould from Edmund Smith. Another Indenture of Demise is concerned with Edmund Smith and Hester Smith who had given Edmund Smith a mortgage of £1710.

The above activity was taking place shortly before the death of Edmund Smith on 12th December 1817 aged 50. He was buried in Winchcombe and in his will left his estate to members of his family. John Smith was the son of John and Lydia Smith of Winchcombe and was baptized on 24th July 1767 aged 50.

It appears that Edmund Smith had owned the estate when he died in 1817 and passed and passed it to his trustees Henry Smith, draper of Evesham and Samuel Sheaf, late of Barton but now of Dorsington, with the Hartlands and Hester Smith acting as mortgagees etc. Thomas Walford Marshall of Harvington, gentleman had also become part of the mix.

See under Prattinton's history for the following reference:-
"Worc -. Feb. 11 1818
Harvington. to be sold
Mr Edm. Smith v Corn Mills
lately erected
Paper mill let to Mr Phillips 50£ for
30 yrs from 1802"

Smith Family
John Smith of Winchcombe married Lydia and issue:-

  1. Edmund, bapt Winchcombe 24th July 1767. Owner of Harvington Mill.
  2. Henry Smith of Evesham draper
  3. Benjamin, bapt Winchcombe 14th Aug 1769.
  4. Elizabeth, married Richard Hirons of Winchcombe
With: Hester Smith, spinster, William Smith of Evesham miller, Thomas Smith gentleman of Winchcombe.

Lease by Henry Smith to Thomas Walford Marshall for 1 year of the whole estate. This was a prelude to Thomas Walford eventually becoming the owner of the Harvington Mill Estate.

The multipage indenture of 30th March 1818 deals with moneys/ownership/mortgage divided into five parts viz: Henry Smith of Evesham, draper and Samuel Sheaf late of Barton but now of Dorsington gentleman of the first part (trustees to Edmund Smith); Thomas Smith of Winchcombe, gentleman of the second part; Hester Smith spinster of the third part; William Smith of Evesham, miller of the forth part; Thomas Walford Marshall of Harvington, gentleman of the fifth part.

Note: Thomas Walford Marshall was of one of leading families in Harvington and whose chest tomb lies in the churchyard. In 1822 the interest the Hartland brothers had in the mill ceased when they received £3,000 from Thomas Walford Marshall.

1818 - 1853 The Marshall Family
Thomas Walford Marshall now owns the Harvington Mill Estate, however it is not clear where he lived in Harvington. He apparently never married and died on 1st November 1826 aged 81, his will was proved on 27th March 1827 and his executors were brother Nicholas Marshall, William Hawkes Marshall and his friend William Frederick Preedy. His brother Nicholas is understandable; William Frederick Preedy his friend was father of the well-known Frederick Preedy architect and stain-glass window maker. Other members of his family appear as legatees. William Hawkes Marshall however inherited the major part of his estate, including the Harvington Mill Estate. In William Walford's will William Hawkes is described as 'William Marshall Hawkes otherwise William Hawkes Marshall Son of Mary Hawkes of Harvington aforesaid Spinster', who at present cannot be traced. His father however is not named, does this suggest he was illegitimate?

As stated above, in 1826 William inherited the Harvington Mill Estate in 1827. William died on 23rd June 1853 aged 62. The 1851 census suggests he was living on his own without a servant in Harvington somewhere in or near Village Street, Hughes Lane and Grange Lane. The executors to his will were George Malin and Henry Sisam. The Malin family were or came to be a prominent Harvington family owning Bank House The Retreat etc.; members of the Sisam family were living in House Mill House in 1841, but not Henry Sisam. The main beneficiary was George Malin but William also bequeathed legacies to a number of villagers, in particular the Cresswells, William Cresswell was his farm bailiff. He also left a legacy to a Mary Hawkes widow who is probably to be identified with a Mary Hawkes widow living nearby our William. Although William clearly was a man of substance and possessed property and land the Harvington Mill Estate is not mentioned. Had he disposed of it by the time he made his will - the answer is probably yes.

The present deeds fail to help us as there is an unexplained gap in them until 1893 when a 'Counterpart' Lease was made between Ernest George Cooke Bomford and The Vale of Evesham Flour Mills Company Ltd. In the deeds there is a curious anomaly with a document dated to 1895 concerning property on Green Hill, Evesham that is clearly misplaced. Have some documents relating to the mill gone astray in a solicitors' office?

We have to assume that the ownership of the Harvington Mill Estate was at some stage between 1827 and 1853 transferred/sold to the Bomford Family, of whom later.

On 15th March 1835 a child Henry Redford the Son of William & Mary Jones, of Harvington, Miller, was recorded in the parish registers. The following year another miller was recorded in Harvington with the baptism of Mary Ann, Daughter of Amos & Hannah Matthews of Harvington, Miller. These may have been under millers at the mill and living in one of the cottages.

18-- -1921 The Bomford Family
We left our story of the owners of the Harvington Mill Estate with the death of William Hawkes Marshall in 1853 and then there is a gap so we do not at present know when the Bomfords acquired the Mill.

Ernest George Cooke Bomford, was born 1849 at Pitchill and lived at Springhill in Fladbury. He was married 1890 at Fosseway to Janet Elizabeth Ferguson, born 1865 at Fosseway, Perthshire, died 16 Sep 1953 at Bredon, and had issue. Ernest was a great innovator and grew up to 100 acres of hops. He Started a brewery and had many tied houses in the Chadbury Fladbury area. The brewery eventually moved to Birmingham. Had a bakery in Harvington called the Avon Pure Bread Company. In 1884, Ernest Bomford, farmer of Spring Hill, Fladbury, near Pershore was summoned for selling or consigning milk from which 20 per cent of the cream had been abstracted. Mr Carter deputy town clerk prosecuted. Fined 40s and costs (Worcestershire Chronicle: Kim Bomford email 22 Aug 2012). Ernest died 8 Mar 1901 at Springhill aged 53. His probate in the same year was to Raymond Bomford, Benjamin Bomford of Harvington Lodge, farmer and Ernest Martineau of Birmingham, solicitor along with James Fergusan Bomford of Sprinhill in 1925. There is at present a problem here because the situation appears to ignore the auction of the property dated to 1921.

The gap in the deeds mentioned above continues after the death of Ernest Bomford in 1901 effectively till 1925 when Mrs Harriet Grice purchased the property. Lots 5 & 6 appear to make up the Harvington Mill Estate, the conveyance between the above and Mrs Harriet Grice was dated 11th May 1925.

These gaps in the deeds may be accounted for by the later sale of the mill in the 1960s with various documents held by the present owners of the mill.


copy of a letter in the deeds.


A lovely photograph of Mill House with the mill weir in the foreground.

Historical Articles

British Listed Buildings:-

https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101253157-harvington-mill-harvington
Watermill, disused. Circa 1800, machinery replaced later in C19. English garden wall bond red brick. Slate roof with gabled ends and brick dentil eaves; taller main block reclad in corrugated sheet steel.
Plan: Rectangular plan with undershot waterwheel at the west end and by-pass through the east end of the mill; the east end appears to have been extended. An extension on the north front of the main block has been demolished.
Exterior: Main block has 3-storeys, 3 bays, centre loading doors on ground and first floors and flanking windows, all with cambered arches; second floor windows in gable ends; door and window frames missing. 2-storey and attic range on left [east] has cambered archway through and gabled hoist housing in roof Large iron and wood undershot waterwheel on west end.
Interior: not inspected but some of the later C19 machinery is recorded as being intact, including the primary gearing.

Evesham Chronicle from January 1984 by A.S. Hancox, Blacksmiths, Cold Aston, Cheltenham, Glos.:-

"Harvington Mill had history of success I was interested in the photograph of Harvington Mill and your report about same. You say ". . . the last time this was used for milling was in 1875 . . ." I do not think this date is correct. The following facts are from "Family Notes" compiled by my father, the late Mr. J.J. Hancox. My grandfather, Edmund Owen Hancox, was working Evesham Flour Mills (later Collins Bacon Factory) from 1870 with what was then up to date roller milling plant to manufacture white flour. The imported wheat for this came up from Gloucester Docks on his own steam barge, and in addition to supplying village bakeries in the Vale of Evesham and the North Cotswolds, much of this flour was sent down to Gloucester by water, where it was trans-shipped to coastal vessels across to South Wales. In addition he ran Chadbury Mill for the manufacture of special ground wholemeal which he called "Avos." In 1894 he started making his stoneground wholemeal at Harvington Mill baking it there and sending the bread by passenger train to Birmingham each morning from Harvington Station. Its rural image and country origin seemed to be an attraction and it was very successful for a number of years."

Shakespeare's Avon 1900, by Charles Showell :-

"The walls have a coat of dark green ivy, the roof is of rusty iron, the machinery has been plundered but the owner still hopes one day to restore water power once more."

Showell quotes from a pamphlet of a local historian, a Mr Tomes: "The most casual inspection of the space around Harvington Mill will show that it has been raised by artificial means - probably at the time when the navigation was made about 1637 in Charles I's reign.

At the end of the weir, foundations have been found of a more ancient mill, together with a mass of cinders, indicating that at an earlier period there was a furnace here for smelting iron - from Clive Allan, Harvington.

The present brick-built mill stands on an ait in the middle of the Avon and of course subject to the occasional flood. Over the centuries there must have been many mills, all built of wood probably on stone foundations, note the early reference that stones from the abbey had been used.


Showell's sketch of Offenham Mill.

The above sketch of the long-gone Offenham Mill by Charles Showell was sketched around 1900. One can see that this was at that time an old mill with its Blue Lias foundations, topped by timber framing and capped by a thatched roof. This is the nearest we can get to the type of structure that existed at Harvington in 1750 and had probaly existed for centuries. From about 1790 onwards many of the Avons mills, along with ours, were replaced by more substantial brick constructions.

The Buildings
The deeds give us an indication of the complexity of the site with multiple industries ranging from corn grinding to paper making to a substantial bakery - Harvington's industrial estate.

Up to now we have had information on owners, leaseholders, and tenants, with only limited detail of what was on the ground except that from at least 1294 there were two mills. We can be assured that because of its situation near a powerful river and on a flood plain its construction with weirs, leats, mill ponds, sluices etc. were substantial and because of this fact would have been long lasting.

The Abstract of Title dated 1818 refers back to another document dated 1751. It describes: "All that Messuage or Tenement & Ground thereto adjoining called the Crow [Con] Croft And also all the Mills called Harvington Mills with their & every of their appurtenances situate standing lying & being on or near the River Avon in the parish of Harvington in the said County of Worcester then in the possession of Joseph Smith (who rented the said premises of the said Thomas Handy at the yearly rent of £34) Together with all Houses Outhouses Edifices Buildings Neights Meadow Pasture Ground Ways water watercourses Boats Stanks Floodgates Fish & Easements profits commodities Hereditaments & appurtenances whatsoever thereto belonging".

A Release dated 31st March 1818, gives the following description: "All that messuage or tenement now or heretofore commonly called or known by the name of the fforge And also all those two Water Corn Mills commonly called or known by the name of Harvington Mills with their appurtenances situate lying and being in the Parish of Harvington aforesaid in the said County of Worcester in or near to the River Avon and the ground and soil whereon the said messuage and mills stand And also all those several Closes pieces or parcels of land called by the several names of the of the Concroft The round Ait and the Mill Ait containing on estimation five acres or thereabouts or the same more or less And all that Allotment or parcel of land situate in the Old weir in Harvington aforesaid". The description in subsequent documents roughly follows the same set formula. We also learn of the multiple functions of the adjacent buildings such as a forge, a paper mill etc. We also have the first written and pictorial evidence of a mill house, somewhere for the miller to live. Our next task is to establish the age of the present buildings and their extent.

Paper Mill

In a quoted indenture of lease dated 1803 John Gould of Harvington leased land near the river on the east side of the mill, on which he had erected a paper mill and house.

There was a big increase in the demand for paper and also for different and new types of paper and card. Several mills in the Winchcombe area run by the Durham family were producing large quantities. This was a growing industry and it seems John Gould was taking advantage. Up to this time most paper was hand made but in 1804 new papermaking machine was developed by Bryan Donkin and the whole process of paper production was in flux with new a denabd for new types of paper such as blot, indeed the mill at Postlip is still producing paper. A most interesting book titled 'The River Isbourne' by Mike Lovatt (publ.2012) describes its mills and paper-making industry on the river in great detail.

Back to our new paper mill, the dimensions are particularly mentioned & described in a plan drawn in the Margin of the document. Unfortunately we only have the extract in the Abstract of Title in 1818. The wording suggests that the paper mill was erected against the east side of the mill alongside a path leading to the ford across the river. The paper mill is probably the two-storey extension between the water wheels seen on early photographs but demolished some decades ago. Between the years 1813 to 1827 the existence of paper makers are recorded in the Harvington's Registers. It is noted that three live in Harvington, probably in the mill cottages.

  1. bapt. 12th Sep. 1813 - Thomas to John & Mary Devile a paper maker of a Paper Mill in Littleton.
  2. Bapt. 11th Apr. 1819 - Sarah Maria to Thomas & Sarah Pettaway, paper maker of Harvington.
  3. Bapt. 21st May 1820 - John to Benjamin & Charlotte Sele paper maker of Harvington.
  4. Bapt. 20th Apr. 1822 - Thomas & Sarah Pittaway, paper maker of South Littleton.
  5. Bapt. 2nd Aug. 1825 - Julia to Patrick & Mary Trajeant, paper manufacturer of North Littleton.
  6. Bapt. 30th Sep. 1827 - Elizabeth to Henry & Mary Mander paper maker of Harvington.

Showell's sketch of the mill in 1900.


The attached building on the left with the chimney,
thought to be the now disappeared paper mill.

Mill Lane and Plan: To approach from the village one used to descend Station Bank from the Coach and Horses Inn and on down Anchor Lane (now truncated by two bypasses!). At present much further down towards the river there are two approaches to the sites; one to Mill House and one to the Mill, these are of modern construction. The original 'Mill Lane' split from Anchor Lane at the present approach drive to Longlands'. It then veered away from Longlands along a raised track, past the recently built Mill Farm and then to Mill House and then on to the mill, all transport to and from the mill would have used this lane.


1: the old raised Mill Lane running alongside telegraph poles in 2024 taken from Mill House.
2: looking towards Mill House where the lane veered off through the gap towards the mill.


Present road to Mill House depicting (2023) an old barn with Mill Cottage
in the background on the left.


Gated track (2023) to the mill from Anchor Lane.


1839/95 plan.

The above plan dated to 1895 is virtually identical to the tithe map of 1839 and depicts the area in fine detail and one can immediately gather the complexity of the site. There are clearly two epicentres of development, one around the mill and one adjacent to Mill House.

Wagons
The wagon was the main means of transport of heavy goods and would have been a familiar sight in the area as they trundled to and fro to the mill and both Arrow and Harvington would have had their own wagons to transport materials. "The wagoner would have taken great pride in his turnout the brasswork on the harness, rightly polished and jingling with the movement of the horses." It is difficult to imagine now the amount of traffic there would have been on the local roads such as wagons, haywanes, carts, drays, of all descriptions and sizes with their horses, asses, donkeys, mules along with country full of folk coming and going with herds and flocks etc.


a wagon from Arrow Mill - Roots & Branches.

What is Where?
This is not so simple a question. There are three aits, one of them on which stands the mill or mills; on adjacent land to the east is Mill House, once attached to a range made up of a bakery and malthouse followed by Mill Cottage or cottages. The deeds mention a number of industrial activities and the censuses record individuals and their trades some of which can be tied to onsite activity. Where are these trades taking place?

The above exercise has lead on from trying to identify where the various trades were taking place and to the age of the present buildings. Clearly none of the original timber-framed buildings survive. The present brick-built buildings i.e. mill, house, outbuildings and also the cottage, exhibit a unity of design which implies a major rebuilding has taken place, with of course later alterations and additions. They are so positioned, the mill being almost in the river, that the general layout would not have changed often. We have as described in the earliest deeds, three aits: Concroft Ait, mill Ait and round ait; there is the old weir, lock and of course the two mills, mentioned back in medieval times. Can one assume that at the time of the earliest deeds in 1751, everything was as it had been for centuries? The documents of 1793, 1808 and 1818 use the term erected or recently erected without frustratingly saying what. Judging by the comments in the deeds and the architecture of the present buildings, a date of 1790 to 1818 seems to fit well. Another question is are we to assume all the buildings always have been in the same place? One can perhaps accept the position of the mills, however can we assume the same for the messuage/house, outbuildings and cottage? When the above piece about the forge was being written an intriguing thought came to mind. Was the original messuage not under the present building but on one of the aits, such as on Concroft? The name croft implies habitation and coupled with a degree of building material, ash, clinker etc. having been found at the end of the weir, could the original house/forge have been on the ait close to the mill ait. Living near to or in the mill, especially in medieval times, makes sense.

1841-1921 Censuses
Up to now we have hardly had the opportunity to write about the actual inhabitants of the mill and over the centurires there must have been dozens of un-named folk living at the mill. Many probably appear in the parish registers but they are difficult to identify without unless the registers record the the individual's trade. We can view the various censuses between 1841 and 1921. They are accentual in indicating who was actually living at the Mill, whether owners or tenants. Some of the families were living in Mill House or cottages for a considerable time while others were passing by so to speak but the censuses do illustrate the varied community that inhabited Mill House and the cottages, almost a hamlet. The inhabitants' trades also help to illustrate their varied occupations.

Residents:
Following are extracts from the various censuses etc.

1841 Census:

  1. John Freeman, aged 60, ag lab, not born in county
  2. Mary Ann Matthews, aged 5, born in county
  3. Lydia Sisam, aged 50, Farmer, not born in county
  4. William Sisam, aged 21, Farmer, not born in county
  5. Frederick Sisam, aged 20, Miller, not born in county
  6. Eliza Wheatrop, aged 20, F A, born in county
  7. Henry Collins, aged 25, M S, not born in county

1851 Census:

  1. Fredrick Sisam, aged 30, Miller Maltster etc., employing 9 men born, born Wark, Bidford
  2. Elizabeth Sisam, aged 28, born Wark, Radway
  3. Henrietta Sisam, aged 1, born Harvington
  4. Mary Harris, servant, aged 17, servant, born Honeybourne
  5. Arthur Egg, servant, aged 18, Baker, born Glos, Winchcombe
  6. George Batchelor, servant aged 22, servant, born Wark, Birmingham
  7. George Ellis, servant, aged 20, Maltster, born Worcs, Cleeve Prior
  8. two uninhabited houses [These may not be related to the mill)

1861 Census:

  1. Mill House, William H Sisam, head, aged 22, Miller & coal merchant, born Wark, Arrow
  2. Mill House, Ann E Sisam, sister, aged 21, house keeper, born Wark, Arrow
  3. Mill House, Walter Sisam, brother, aged 18, miller, born Wark, Arrow
  4. Mill House, Jane Cowper, servant, aged 17, general servant, born Wark, Grafton
  5. Mill Cottage 1, Samuel Lester, head, aged 24, Ag Lab, born Wark, Eastcourt
  6. Mill Cottage 1, Ellen Lester, wife aged 23, born Wark Broom
  7. Mill Cottage 1, Frederick Lester, son, aged 4, born Wark, Broom
  8. Mill Cottage 1, Luisa, Lester, daughter, aged 1, born Wark, Broom
  9. Mill Cottage 2' Henry Osborne, head, aged 31, journeyman miller, born Worc, Sedgeberrow
  10. Mill Cottage 2, Emma Osborne, wife, aged 27, born Harvington
  11. Mill Cottage 2, Sarah A Osborne, daughter, aged 5, born Harvington
  12. Mill Cottage 2, Francis Gillett, boarder, aged 25, journeyman miller, born Glos, Moreton in Marsh

1871 Census:

  1. Mill House, John Sisam, head, aged 52, Miller employing three men, born Wark, Bidford
  2. Mill House, Sarah H Sisam, wife, aged 48, miller's wife, born Wark, Compton
  3. Mill House, William B Sisam, son, aged 15, miller's son, born Glos, Winchcombe
  4. Mill House, Mary K Sisam, daughter, aged 13, miller's daughter, born Glos, Winchcombe
  5. Mill House, Elizabeth Adams, servant, aged 14, domestic servant, born worc, Stretton on Foss
  6. Mill House, William Jones, servant, aged 21, Carter/domestic servant, born Worc, Evesham
  7. no mention of cottage 1
  8. Mill Cottage 2, Henry G Osborne, head, aged 41, labourer, born Worc, Sedgeberrow
  9. Mill Cottage 2, Emma Osborne, wife, aged 36, born Harvington
  10. Mill Cottage 2, Sarah A Osborne, daughter, aged 15, born Harvington
  11. Mill Cottage 2, James Adams, lodger, aged 19, labourer, Wark, Stretton on Foss
Note
George Henry Osborne of Harvington Mill was buried 9th June 1880, aged 52 years.

1881 Census:

  1. The Mill, Alexander J Redmayne, head, aged 34, Lieutenant 2nd Warwickshire Militia, born Hertfordshire
  2. The Mill, Ada Redmayne, wife, aged 23, born Yks, Whilsey
  3. The Mill, Alexander B J Redmayne, son, aged 2, born Wark, Stratford upon Avon
  4. The Mill, William Redmayne, son, aged 2, born Worc, Harvington
  5. The Mill, Maud E G T Redmayne, daughter, aged 3m, born worcs, Harvington
  6. The Mill, Amelia Court, servant, aged 19, general servant, born Wark, Stratford upon Avon
  7. The Mill, Emma E Jackson, servant, aged 18, domestic nurse, born Wark, Stratford upon Avon
  8. Mill Cottage 1, Henry Lock, head, aged 32, carter, born Northants, Sutton
  9. Mill Cottage 1, Jane Lock, wife, aged 28, born Wark, Paxford
  10. Mill Cottage 1, Ruben Lock, son, aged 8, born Northants, Sutton
  11. Mill Cottage 1, Fanny E Lock, daughter, aged 5, born Oxon, Chaselton
  12. Mill Cottage 1, Mary A Lock, daughter, aged 3, born Wark, Paxford
  13. Mill Cottage 2, Thomas Hathaway, head, aged 29, miller, born Worcs, Worcester
  14. Mill Cottage 2, Elizabeth Hathaway, wife, aged 17, born Durham, Sunderland
  15. Mill Cottage 2, Alice Hathaway, daughter, aged 2, born Staffordshire, Wordsley
Note
In 1891 Alexander Redmayne and his family were living in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. Thomas Lionel Hathaway of Harvington Mill was buried 30th August 1883, aged 9 months.

1891 Census:

  1. The Mill, Enock Dance, head, aged 30, button manufacturer, born Lancs, Bolton
  2. The Mill, Albert E Gomm, aged 33, corn merchant, born Wark, Birmingham
  3. The Mill, Albert Chatwin, aged 28, Brass hinge manufacturer, born Wark, Birmingham
  4. The Mill, Walter Chatwin, aged 31, Chartered accountant, born Wark, Birmingham
  5. The Mill, Henry Wigley, aged 27, Commercial traveller, born Wark, Birmingham
  6. Mill Cottage, Thomas M Sisam, head, aged 50, mill manager miller, born anon
  7. Mill Cottage, Mary J Sisam, wife, aged 48, born Wark, Idlecote
  8. Mill Cottage, Charles M Sisam, son, aged 19, miller, born Glos, Winchcombe
  9. Mill Cottage, Thomas Sisam, son, aged 18, miller, born Glos, Cheltenham
  10. Mill Cottage, Katherine H Sisam, daughter, aged 14, scholar, born Worc, Atch Lench
  11. Mill Cottage, Alexander Sisam, son, aged 9, scholar, born, Worc, Aldington
  12. Mill Cottage, John F, Sisam, son, aged 7, scholar, born Worc, Harvington
  13. Mill Cottage, Edmond H Sisam, son, aged 5, scholar, born Worc, Harvington
  14. Mill Cottage, Arthur J Sisam, son, aged 1, born Worc, Harvington

1901 Census

  1. Mill House, Albert E Gomm, head, aged 39, corn merchant, born Wark, Birmingham
  2. Mill House, Edward M Evans, visitor, aged 32, jeweller, born Wark, Birmingham
  3. Mill House, Arthur Stokes, boarder, aged 35, jeweller, born Wark, Birmingham
  4. Mill Cottage, 5 rooms, Alfred Knight, head, aged 33, born Worc, Bishampton
  5. Mill Cottage, Clara Knight, wife, aged 28, born Worc, Lenchwick

1911 Census

  1. Mill House, 6 rooms, William Thomas Page, head, aged 46, domestic gardener, norn Worc, Lindbridge
  2. Mill House, Mary Elizabeth Page, wife aged 54, born Wark, Acton
  3. Mill House, Beatrice Mary Ann Page, daughter, aged 23, born Worc, Walsall Heath
  4. Mill House, Florence Grace Page, daughter, aged 7, born Worc, Small Heath
  5. Mill Cottage, 8 rooms, Albert Ernest Gomm, head aged 53, private means, born Wark, Birmingham
  6. Mill Cottage, Arthur Stokes, boarder, aged 42, manufacturing jeweller/bricklayer, Wark, Erdington

1921 Census

  1. Mill House, Arthur Stokes, head, aged 54, manager jeweller Regent Place, Birmingham, born Wark
  2. Mill House, Doris Fanny Stokes, wife, aged 26, born Wark
  3. Mill House, Doris Mary Stokes, daughter, aged 2m, born Wark
  4. Mill House, Beatrice Nelly Benson, servant, aged 40, nurse, born Wark
  5. Mill Alice Mary Jefferies, servant, aged 23, domestic lady help, born Glos
  6. Mill William Thomas Page, servant, aged 57, domestic gardener, born Worc
  7. Mill Mary Elizabeth Page, servant, aged 65, cook, born Worc

1841-1891 The Sisam Family farmers and millers
One can immediately see from census material that the Sisam family were millers and main occupiers of the mill during the Victorian period. The excellently written book Roots and Branches by Peter J Sisam, the story of the Sisam family, published in 1993, is a must in not only good research and layout, but in explaining how the millers' trade functioned in the everyday running of a mill. The Sisam family were millers and maltsters based at Arrow Mill near Alcester. The family's comings and goings between Arrow their main base, Harvington mill, Winchcombe mills, oversley, New Zealand and other places is complex and much reliance has been placed on Peter Sisam's book. A pedigree of the Sisam family is to be found under 'Families'.

William Sisam
William was brought up at a house in Hill near Fladbury and took over the lease of Arrow Mill in 1821, which became the family home for various members of the family for 100 hundred years in 1921. In 1834 William died suddenly from a fall from his house on Bidford Bridge. His sons Henry and John took over the running of the business with help from other members of the family.

Lydia Sisam
In 1838 a lease was taken out of Harvington Mill by Lydia Sisam with help from two of her sons William and Frederick. It was a large property as it included not only the mill and outbuildings but adjacent land leased from William Marshall of Harvington. The Sisams leased the mill until the late 1880s. In the 1841 Lydia and William are described as farmers whereas Frederick is the miller. Lydia stayed on at Harvington until 1847 when she moved to Mount Pleasant Farm at Walton near Wellesbourne with William and three of her daughters.

William and Frederick Sisam
Lydia and William Sisams left in 1847 leaving her son Frederick Sisam and his new wife Elizabeth in charge of the mill. Their daughter Henrietta Phoebe was born in 1850. He prospered and "by 1851 he was raising crops and milling flour, producing malt as well as baking and selling bread. He employed 9 men three of whom lived on the premises". Very soon there were additions to the family with two more daughters Elizabeth and Marian. At some stage in the 1850s Frederick disappeared from Harvington leaving his wife and family without support. By 1861 his wife Elizabeth was living with a Marshall relative as a housekeeper in Radway, her daughter Henrietta was living with her uncle William Sisam at Mount Pleasant near Walton and her daughters Elizabeth and Marion were living as boarders in Cookhill, so the disappearance of Frederick was a disaster for his family. There is a section on his disappearance in Peter Sisam's book. Unbeknown to his family he settled in Yorkshire with a new wife and produced a new family!

Henry Sisam
William's son Henry took on the responsibility of running of Harvington mill until his young sons William Henry and Walter could take over as millers with their sister Ann Emily as housekeeper- they appear in the 1861 census. Henry's sons Thomas Marshall, Alfred and Walter emigrated to New Zealand in 1862. In the 1860s Thomas Marshall returned and joined him at Harvington. Thomas married Mary Jane Davis in 1869 and later moved to Winchcombe to run a mill in that town. According to the census returns of 1891, he had returned to Harvington and was living in Mill Cottage as a miller manager with his wife Mary Jane and son Charles (a miller), Thomas (a miller), Katherine, Alexander, John Francis, Edmund Herbert and Arthur Gordon.

John Sisam, and family
John had taken on the lease of the Coates Mill at Winchcombe in 1847. They ran the mill until 1869 when they moved to Harvington Mill and he was recorded in the 1871 census as a miller employing three men with his wife Sarah and children William Bernard and Mary K. In a deed dated 1893 John Leonard Sisam was described as "now and for some years past occupying Harvington Mill as tenant.

See under Families for a detailed pedigree of the Sisam Family.

The census of 1881 suggests there was a break in the running of the mill by the Sisams with a Thomas Hathaway and his family as the miller, living in a part of Mill Cottage.

In the great frost of 1897 the rivers froze over and the machinery was 'damaged beyond repair'. After this time no miller is mentioned in the censuses and it is likely that the milling part of the mill ceased.

Auction on 24th November 1921
by E.G. Righton & Son, auctioneers at the King's Head Hotel, Evesham.
A fascinating newspaper item (see under Newspapers), giving details of a large amount of property in Harvington, including the Harvington Mill Estate was published.

  • Freehold hop & market garden farm including a superior farm house, hop kilns, 5 cottages and buildings and closes of exceedingly rich and early arable, pasture and meadow land, the whole containing about 189 acres.
  • Also several detached pieces of very productive market garden & building land.
  • 15 cottages & blacksmith's shop.
  • Longlands small holding 11½ acres.
  • Harvington Mill House (a very pleasant and desirable residence), with gardens and out-houses and meadows abutting on the River Avon.
  • The disused corn mill & fittings, pasture, islands & withy beds, comprising about 12 acres, with fishing rights.
  • The comfortable Mill Cottage with tastefully laid-out gardens.

1925-1964 - Grice Family

We have evidence that Harriet Grice purchased the Harvington Mill Estate on 11th May 1925 from the estate of the long deceased Ernest George Cooke Bomford.

The Grice family's residency of the mill is noted in the following extracts.

1939 Register

  1. Mill House, Charles A Grice, sales engineer & director, born 31 March 1877
  2. Mill House, Harriet Grice, born 6 May 1881
  3. Mill House, Muriel Grice, born 21 April 1909
1949 List of Residents
  1. Mill House, Charles A Grice
  2. Mill House, Harriet Grice

There is a sad story told by Pat Cresswell who lives on Cress Hill (2024), that when Muriel, Harriet Grice's daughter, died on 8th Feb 1944, Harriet shut the door to Muriel's room and never went into it again.

Muriel's book was:-

Verses from Thought-land.

There was difficulty in tracing the origins of this family until it was discovered that Muriel had been born in New Jersey, USA where her parents had been living. This is illustrated in the following references.

US World War 1 Draft Registration Cards: Charles Albert Grice born 31 Mar 1877 residence in 1917-18 Passaic R.F.D. Passaic County New Jersey, USA medium height brown hair brown eyes relative Harriet Grice.

1920 US Census: - Charles A Grice, living Summit Place, Clifton Ward 1, Passaic, New Jersey, father & mother English, Engineer self-employed, married to Hariette Grice, English mother & father English. their daughter Muriel

1910 US Census: - Charles A Grice, living Bloomfield Road, Acquackanonk, Passaic, New Jersey, Engineer, rented house, etc. Same for Harriet. Muriel born New Jersey

Charles died 23rd June 1958 and Harriet died on 27th August 1964. They are buried in the Burial Ground. Pat Cresswell remembered someone working for her but she kept very much to herself. Her probate reads: GRICE, Harriet of the Mill House Harvington Worcestershire widow died 27 August 1964 at the Hospital Evesham Worcestershire Probate Gloucester 28 November to Henry Osborne Roberts Solicitor and Kathleen de Courcy Peele spinster. £101886. Harriet is described as small, thin and reclusive.

1964 onwards
Following the death of Harriet Grice in 1964, it is believed the property was divided up into lots and came under separate ownership, with the the Mill, Mill House and Mill Cottage going their separate ways.

The Mill

Sometime in the 1990s it was hoped that the mill was to be restored but nothing has happened for many years and it is at present (2024) derelict.

Mill House

The Greenhalgh family purchased the house, outbuildings and surrounding land in the 1980s. Under them it was converted into a Restaurant, rather like the mill further up the river at Arrow.


A delightful scene painted recently by Peter Hemming, who was raised in the village.

The greenhalgh Family
When Simon and Jane Greenhalgh purchased Mill House and adjacent building in the 1980s he carried out extensive development of both the house and outbuildings. The Greenhalgh's converted the property into a successful Restaurant still remembered by many people, but ceased after a disastrous flood. Many improvements, renovation and building work has taken place illustrated by the following photographs kindly donated by Simon Greenhalgh.

The photographs were taken by Simon Greenhalgh during the time when he was converting the bakery and malthouse into holiday cottages in 1988. The small building with large windows sandwiched between the house and what was the bakery and malthouse, has since been demolished.


Mill House on bakery prior to the demolition of the little connecting building.


Removal of the bread ovens.


The malthouse.

The above building being converted into holiday cottages.

Mill Cottage
Is situated to the east of Mill House past the range of once industrial buildings. Not a lot is known about the property but the building appears to be contiguous with the neighbouring mill house and industrial range, therefore must share a similar origin. Little is known of its early history but presumably it, or rather they as indicated in the census returns, were occupied by mill workers. The censuses of 1861 to 1881 indicate two cottages, whereas later censuses suggest they had been converted into one residence. Until recent times they had a combined ownership with Mill House. As stated above they are mentioned in the censuses and had a series of tenants some of whom lived in them for many years. Here is a listing of the families and individuals linked to the cottages:-

Three paper makers living in Harvington are recorded in the parish registers and it is likely that they lived in Mill Cottages: 1813 - Thomas & Sarah Pettaway; 1820 - Benjamin & Charlotte Sele; 1827 - Henry & Mary Mander.

Three millers by the names William Jones, Amos Matthews & John Stanton were having children in 1835, 1836 and 1837.

1841 the occupancy of Mill House and Cottages are combined.

1851 there are two uninhabited house which may or may not be the cottages.

1861

1871
  • no mention of cottage 1
  • Mill Cottage 2, Henry G Osborne, head, aged 31, journeyman miller, born Worc, Sedgeberrow
  • Mill Cottage 2, Emma Osborne, wife, aged 36, born Harvington
  • Mill Cottage 2, Sarah A Osborne, daughter, aged 15, born Harvington
  • Mill Cottage 2, James Adams, lodger, aged 19, labourer, Wark, Stretton on Foss
1881
  • Mill Cottage 1, Henry Lock, head, aged 32, carter, born Northants, Sutton
  • Mill Cottage 1, Jane Lock, wife, aged 28, born Wark, Paxford
  • Mill Cottage 1, Ruben Lock, son, aged 8, born Northants, Sutton
  • Mill Cottage 1, Fanny E Lock, daughter, aged 5, born Oxon, Chaselton
  • Mill Cottage 1, Mary A Lock, daughter, aged 3, born Wark, Paxford
  • Mill Cottage 2, Thomas Hathaway, head, aged 29, miller, born Worc, Worcester
  • Mill Cottage 2, Elizabeth Hathaway, wife, aged 17, born Durham, Sunderland
  • Mill Cottage 2, Alice Hathaway, daughter, aged 2, born Staffordshire, Wordsley
1891
  • Mill Cottage, Thomas M Sisam, head, aged 50, mill manager miller, born anon
  • Mill Cottage, Mary J Sisam, wife, aged 48, born Wark, Idlecote
  • Mill Cottage, Charles M Sisam, son, aged 19, miller, born Glos, Winchcombe
  • Mill Cottage, Thomas Sisam, son, aged 18, miller, born Glos, Cheltenham
  • Mill Cottage, Katherine H Sisam, daughter, aged 14, scholar, born Worc, Atch Lench
  • Mill Cottage, Alexander Sisam, son, aged 9, scholar, born, Worc, Aldington
  • Mill Cottage, John F, Sisam, son, aaged 7, scholar, born Worc, Harvington
  • Mill Cottage, Edmond H Sisam, son, aged 5, scholar, born Worc, Harvington
  • Mill Cottage, Arthur J Sisam, son, aged 1, born Worc, Harvington
1901
  • Mill Cottage, 5 rooms, Alfred Knight, head, aged 33, born Worc, Bishampton
  • Mill Cottage, Clara Knight, wife, aged 28, born Worc, Lenchwick
1911
  • Mill Cottage, 8 rooms, Albert Ernest Gomm, head aged 53, private means, born Wark, Birmingham
  • Mill Cottage, Arthur Stokes, boarder, aged 42, manufacturing jeweller/bricklayer, Wark, Erdington

Note:
In the 1991 & 1901 censuses 'Mill Cottage' has 5 rooms and 8 rooms respectively.

In recent years the cottage was the home of the Lynes family and has been virtually rebuilt.

PROPERTY DEEDS
The Property Deeds date from 1793 with reference to previous documents back to 1751. They have been transcribed in full up to 1924, press on the link to view them.