The
3 arch bridge upstream from the mill 12th October 2003
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Stiffkey
Tide Mill River Stiffkey |
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Stiffkey was originally pronounced Stewkey and still is by some locals. A watermill was working in Stiffkey in the 1200s and was probably rebuilt several times over the centuries. This was the older of the two watermills known to have been in the village and was almost certainly a tide mill as the river Stiffkey was tidal upstream for some distance northwest of the road bridge. The 1586 map below depicts the mill with an external wheel. |
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In the first volume of the Papers of Nathaniel Bacon he discusses in a letter to his father the possibility of building a mill with some of the money from the sale of property. He bemoans the fact that the other towns on the river Stiffkey all have watermills but Stiffkey does not. By 1579 there are estate books and accounts showing that Stiffkey by then had its own mill. |
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The
3 arch bridge upstream from the mill 12th October 2003
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A few years ago an old Terrier of Stiffkey came into my possession on the purchase of a collection of early Norfolk charters. It dates from the reign of Edward the First, 1272-1307 ... tempe E pm f Henr terij (Henry reigned 1216-1272) Wyllm Turtevyll and Wyllm Hevynhgm heldeth in the towne of Styfkey ... And j watermyll and Anoder Wyndemyll Norfolk Archaeology, H. L. Bradfer-Lawrence - 1928 |
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Map 1586 |
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O. S. Map 1886 |
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c.1216 - 1272: Windmill & watermill |
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| Nat Grid Ref TF97004305 approx | Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2023 |