Baldock's Mill

Baldock's Mill

Photographed in 2010 by Gordon Lack

The Domesday Book of 1086, the great land survey ordered by William the Conqueror, records that at least three water mills existed in Bourne at that time out of an estimated 5,000 mills in the whole country. They were owned by Oger the Breton and produced an income of thirty shillings a year. He also had two parts of the profits from another mill that brought in a further five shillings a year. Other landowners in Bourne are also recorded as having "parts of mills", a system we would refer to today as shares, but it is not known how many there were. These values seem insignificant by today's monetary standards but in Norman times they were a most important incomes for the Lords of the Manor.

Another source of manorial revenue in the late 11th century were fisheries and there were 24 in Bourne. Ivo Taillebois had three that brought in eight pence a year while Alfred of Lincoln had six producing sixteen pence and the revenue from Oger's six fisheries is counted in terms of produce rather than currency and amounted to 2,500 eels. A further fifteen fisheries are mentioned in the Domesday Book entry for Bourne and so they would appear to be a quite important business venture. Imagine a pound consisting of 240 pence, as it was before the introduction of decimal currency, and you will have some idea of the amounts involved. The fisheries continued to play an important role in providing food, the monks of Bourne Abbey having their own Monk's Pool, now the site of the outdoor swimming pool, where carp were bred for the monastery table.

Baldock's Mill was one of the three water mills mentioned in the Domesday Book that survived into the 20th century and still stands today at No. 21 South Street. It was built on the banks of the Bourne Eau in 1800 and operated until the mid-1920s, taking its name from the last family to work it, i e Baldock. The mill wheel was 21 ft in diameter by 3 ft wide and there was a smaller fly wheel measuring 5 ft by 1 ft. Corn was brought in to be ground into animal feed by farmers and smallholders who paid for the grinding.

Maize was also split for chicken feed and horse beans and a flour dresser provided sufficient for the family's own use. Two sets of stones operated on the first floor fed from hoppers on the floor above, the corn being lifted up from the ground floor where it had been previously delivered by a chain hoist driven, like the stones, by the wooden undershot water wheel. Access to the two upper floors by the miller was by ladders. The mill operated twice a day for three hours and this time was increased by the digging of the leg between the paddock that is now the War Memorial Gardens and the Wellhead cottage. After powering Baldock's Mill, the water then ran downstream and could be used by Notley's Mill in Eastgate.

A gas engine was run at other times to provide power and as the owner, Mr Frederick Baldock, ran a carpentry and timber business from the premises, it also kept his saw bench in operation. Ground meal was packed on the downstairs floor, using the same bags brought in by the farmers, then hoisted up to the store on the first floor ready for collection via a wooden chute that was attached to the iron bar that can still be seen today below the stable door entrance.

The mill stopped working about 1924 when the water wheel collapsed. The owner, the Marquess of Exeter, called in experts to inspect the damage but decided not to repair it because of the high costs involved. The wheel and machinery were removed but the mill race that turned the wheel can still be seen within the building, now scheduled Grade II as being of architectural and historic interest.

The mill was listed in 1973 and in 1981, Bourne Civic Society sought permission to turn it into a Heritage Centre and Bourne United Charities agreed to lease them the building for a peppercorn rent in order that it would be preserved for community use. This lease was renewed in 2002 for a further 21 years and the full potential of the building in this new role is slowly being realised.

Photographed in September 2010

Scale model of the mill by Michael Inkel, a pupil at Bourne Grammar School, as part of his A level architectural studies in 1998 and later presented to the
Heritage Centre where it is now on display.

REVISED APRIL 2013