Hambleden Mill

Hambleden Mill is an historic watermill on the River Thames at Mill End, near the village of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, England. It is linked by a footbridge to Hambleden Lock, which is on the Berkshire side of the river. It was Grade II listed in 1955 and has now been converted into flats. Alongside the mill is Hambleden Marina which occupies two islands. Along the river frontage to the south-east is the site of a Roman Villa. History A mill at Hambleden is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, when it was held by Queen Matilda and had a rent of 20 shillings/year, as well as a fishery that yielded 1,000 eels annually. Before 1235 the mill was granted to Keynsham Abbey. Alison Uttley described it as "The most beautiful place in the whole length of the long Thames valley." The oldest part of the present mill building was built in the late 18th century, possibly incorporating part of an earlier 17th century mill. This now forms the southern end of the building and has three main floors plus an attic, making it the tallest part of the building. This wing has half-hipped gables and plain tiles on the roof. A 19th century addition to the west, two stories high with a slate roof, stretches along the river front. In the late 19th century, a barge, Maid of the Mill, used to make a weekly journey with flour from the mill to Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory in Reading. On her return trip she carried broken biscuits for sale, cheap, to the local villagers. The mill was still in use in the 1950s having been upgraded from the original waterwheel and grinding stones to a water-turbine driving steel rollers in about 1939. It had fallen out of use by the early 1970s, and planning permission for conversion to apartments was granted in 1974. The extensive renovations involved re-cladding in white shiplap boarding, and replacement of its many windows with 20th century casements, sashes and some horizontal sliding sashes in the 18th century attic windows. Next to the mill, away from the river, is Mill House, also a grade II listed building. This was built in around 1770, for use by the mill-owner, with flint walls and a rendered and whitewashed frontage.