House Mill facts for kids
The House Mill is a very important old building located by the River Lea in Mill Meads, London. It's part of a bigger area called the Three Mills complex. This special building is a type of mill called a tidal mill. This means it used the power of the ocean's tides to grind things like grain.
The first mills here were mentioned way back in 1086 in a very old record book called the Domesday Book. The House Mill you see today was built in 1776 by a person named Daniel Bisson. It got damaged by a fire in 1802, but then it was rebuilt by Philip Metcalfe.
A Special Historic Building
The House Mill is one of only four buildings in the London Borough of Newham that has a "Grade I listed" status. This means it's considered a building of exceptional historical and architectural importance. It is still the "largest tidal mill standing in Britain," even though its big water wheels don't work anymore.
Features of the Mill
On the south side of the House Mill, you can see a special design called a facade. This part of the building shows a coat of arms with the year 1776 on it. You can also spot the letters "D S B," which might stand for Daniel and Sarah Bisson, who were involved with the mill. There are also forty cast iron plates on the walls. These plates help to hold the ends of the floor beams together, making the building strong.
The Miller's Home
The Miller's House was where the mill operator and their family used to live. This house was rebuilt in 1995. It has a modern inside, but its outside looks like the original building. Another house next to the House Mill was also for the miller's family. Sadly, during World War II, a bomb hit a nearby building on October 15, 1940. This bomb damaged both of the miller's houses, and they had to be taken down later. After this, the mill stopped working and was used as a storage building instead.
