Medway watermills facts for kids

The River Medway and its smaller rivers have been a source of power for over 1,150 years! More than 200 places along these rivers are known to have used water power.

People used this power for many things. They ground corn into flour, made paper, worked with iron, pumped water, created gunpowder, extracted vegetable oil, and even generated electricity.

Today, only one watermill still works for its original purpose. Many old mills have been changed into new things like homes, restaurants, museums, or even wedding venues. Some are just old ruins, while most have completely disappeared.

Watermills on the Medway River

The River Medway itself powered several important watermills. Let's explore some of them, moving from the river's start to its end.

Fen Place Mill, Worth

This mill's building is still partly there, now part of a house. It even has its old waterwheel! It might have been a "hammer mill," which used a heavy hammer powered by water to shape metal. In the past, it was known as Bishes Mill and was a corn mill, grinding grain.

Brambletye Mill, Forest Row

This mill was mentioned in the Domesday Book, a famous survey from 1086! The last mill building was built in 1866 after the old one burned down. It had a brick base and a wooden top. A large wooden waterwheel, called an "overshot" wheel (meaning water flowed over the top), turned three pairs of heavy millstones to grind corn. This mill was still working in 1945 but was taken down by 1968.

Tablehurst Mill, Forest Row

This mill was mostly a 1500s building. It might be the "Tellhurst Mill" that the famous artist J. M. W. Turner sketched around 1795. It had two overshot waterwheels working together and all its machinery was made of wood. The mill stopped working in 1925 and was demolished by 1936.

Parrock Forge, Hartfield

This place was a "forge," where iron was heated and shaped. It was very busy during the time of King Henry VIII, making "gunstones of iron" (cannonballs!). The king sometimes owed money for the weapons, which caused problems for the ironmakers. The forge was active until at least 1600. The dam that held back water for the forge was quite long, possibly up to 270 metres (300 yd).

Ashurst Mill

This was another corn mill. The last building was built around 1780. The Everest and Caffyn families ran it for many years. New machinery was put in in 1887, costing over £1,000. Sadly, the mill burned down in September 1930. Its waterwheel was huge, about 16 feet (4.88 m) tall and 7 feet 8 inches (2.34 m) wide!

Chafford Mills, Fordcombe

This was a "paper mill," where paper was made. There were two mills here in the 1200s. A bridge was built in 1303 to replace a ford (a shallow crossing) that became too deep. This site was also used as a "fulling mill," which cleaned and thickened wool fabric. Paper from Chafford Mills was even used to print postage stamps for places like Jamaica and the Falkland Islands! The mill closed in 1913 and was taken down in 1930. It was later powered by a "turbine," a machine that uses rotating blades to get power from water.

Powder Mills, Leigh (Tunbridge Gunpowder Works)

This was a gunpowder mill, started in 1811. It cost a lot of money to set up, about £30,000! Famous scientist Humphry Davy was involved at the start. The mills had several explosions over the years, which were very dangerous. In 1874, transporting gunpowder by river stopped because people in Maidstone were worried about safety. Steam power was added later. By 1897, they stopped making gunpowder and started making "cordite," another type of explosive. The site had a small railway system to move things around. After World War I, production slowed down. The site is now used for pharmaceutical research and is still called Powder Mills today.

Town Mill, Tonbridge

This was an old corn mill. The mill house is still standing, along with some of the mill's original walls. It had a "breastshot" waterwheel, where water hit the wheel around its middle. In 2006, a new house was built that cleverly included the old mill remains.

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  The Mill House

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  The new building on the old walls

Branbridges Mill, East Peckham

This mill was known as "Brantbridge Mill" in 1538. The Arnold family ran it later. In 1890, it was marked as an "oil mill," likely for extracting oil from seeds. The waterwheel was replaced by a turbine, then a gas engine, and then an oil engine. It stopped making flour around 1917 and "provender" (animal feed) around 1947. The mill burned down in the 1960s.

Hampstead Mill, Yalding

This was one of two mill sites in Yalding mentioned in the Domesday Book. In 1872, it was a paper mill. Before World War I, it became a chemical works and later part of a big company called ICI.

Tide Mills

Some mills were "tide mills," meaning they used the power of the tides (the rise and fall of sea water) to turn their wheels.

Borstal Mill

This was an old tide mill. It belonged to the See of Rochester in 1323 and was rebuilt that year.

Strood Tide Mill

This mill's location is now marked by Water Mill Wharf. It had two "undershot" waterwheels (where water flowed under the wheel) and was quite valuable. Later, a steam engine was added so the mill could work even when the tide wasn't strong enough. It was taken down in 1858. It used to turn five pairs of millstones and also powered wheat cleaners and sack hoists.

Watermills on Tributaries

Most of the watermills were actually on the smaller rivers that flow into the Medway, called "tributaries." There are so many that they are covered in other articles!

• Mills on tributaries above Penshurst are in the upper tributaries article.
• Mills on tributaries between Penshurst and Yalding are in the middle tributaries article.
• Mills on tributaries below Yalding are in the lower tributaries article.