Painting by Holmes E. Winter c.1890
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Diss
Rose Lane composite mill |
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Painting by Holmes E. Winter c.1890
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Diss Rose Lane composite mill consisted of a postmill buck mounted on the base of an earlier towermill that had been built to supply power to an adjacent coarse yarn spinning factory. The postmill had been badly damaged and possibly destroyed during a storm in 1834 and it was decided to combine two mill structures to make one corn mill. The mill stood to the north of the Mill House. |
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The 4 double shuttered sails of the postmill, each with 8 bays of shutters were struck by rack & pinion and turned to the wind by a fantail. The sails powered two pairs of overdriven 4ft French burr stones and a flour mill. A further pair of underdriven stones, along with a flour mill and jumper, were set on the ground floor and powered by an engine. |
When the site was offered for sale by auction in 1896, the adjacent four storey steam mill was using a 14 h.p. steam engine with a 20 h.p. boiler to power a further 4 pairs of 4ft French burr stones. |
Diss Parish Registers record the following: 1822 Feb 7 William s of Wm. & Ann Chaplin, Miller. 1826 Sept 16 Mary Ann d of William & Ann Chaplin, miller. 1831 July 3. Sarah Emma d of William & Ann Chaplyn, miller. The only child with this couple in the 1841 census is Sarah Emma named as Emma |
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1845 advert |
Diss Parish Records POOR RATE 1836 Made 26 September 1836 at 1s. in the pound |
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| No. 69 No. 70 No. 71 |
Occupier Owner House & Lands Assessed at Rate at 1s. Occupier Owner Mill Assessed at Rate at 1s. Occupier Owner Mill Assessed at Rate at 1s. |
William Chaplin Himself The Common £5. 15s. 5s. 9d. William Chaplin Himself The Common £12 12s. William Chaplin Himself The Common £1. 5s. 2 1s. 3d. |
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Tithe map 1838 - as redrawn by Harry Apling |
Tithe Award 1837 |
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No. 1051 |
House, mill & land |
Pasture |
0a. 3r. 33p. |
12/6d |
Shown as a smock mill on a 2 storey brick base |
Re manufacture of hempen cloth, huckaback sheeting & shirting:- ...as late as 1838 ... there was a factory for spinning coarse yarns, set in motion by a windmill (in Victoria Road, now Lincoln's) Waveney Studies - E. Pursehouse, October 1960 |
Diss Parish Records POOR RATE 1864 Made 24 November 1864 at 9d. in the pound |
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| No. 141 No. 40 |
Occupier Owner House, Mills, Garden 1a. 3r. 31p. Gross Estimated Rental Rateable Value Rate at 9d. Occupier Owner Shop 1p. Gross extimated Rental Rateable Value Rate at 9d. |
John W. Sayer William Chaplyn Victoria Road £56 £38 £1. 8. 6 John W. Sayer William Grear Market Place £5 £4 3s. |
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Rose Lane composite mill & Stuston Road smockmill during the flood in August 1912 |
Diss Parish Records POOR RATE 1864 Made 24 November 1864 at 9d. in the pound |
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| No. 281 No. 29 No. 30 No. 31 |
Occupier Owner House, Premises & 1a. 2r. 36p. Gross Estimated Rental Rateable Value Rate at 9d. in the pound Land 46a. 2r. 0p. Gross extimated Rental Rateable Value Rate at 9d. Malting, Yard & 0a. 1r. 23p. Gross extimated Rental Rateable Value Rate at 9d. Granary & Stables, Railway Station 24p Gross extimated Rental Rateable Value Rate at 9d. |
William Chaplyn Himself Victoria Road £20 £16 £ 12s. Victoria Road £82 £78 £2. 18. 6 Victoria Road £60 £47 £1. 15. 3 £20 £15 11. 3d. |
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c.1915 |
Situations Vacant To Millers Wanted immediately, a Married Man (without family) to work a small STEAM & WINDMILL. A House to live in; the woman to wait upon a Single Gentleman. Good reference required. Apply Y.Z., Railway Tavern, Diss. Norfolk News - 3rd October 1868 |
Situations Vacant WANTED, a Single Man as JOURNEYMAN MILLER, of sober habits & a GOOD WORKMAN. Apply TO J. W. Sayer, Diss. Norfolk News - 31st October 1868 |
John Button, Miller & Merchant, Victoria Rd., Diss, begs to acknowledge the increased patronage received during the past eighteen years by the inhabitants of Diss and its neighbourhood, and wishes to inform them he has Enlarged his Business by taking |
The Victoria Steam and Wind Mills Also the Shop in the Market Place |
| Late in the occupation of Mr. J. W. Sayer, where a first-class stock of every kind of |
Corn, Flour, Meal, Offal, Malt and Hops Will be Always on hand. Wholesale and Retail Coals of all kinds kept in stock. Agent for W. Blackmre & Co.'s Patent Bolting Cloths for Dressing flour Steam Thrashing Machine Proprietor. |
| Diss Express - 26th June 1874 |
Situations Vacant To Journeymen Millers WANTED immediately, two MEN of good character, must thoroughly understand the Business, to work Steam & Wind Mills & make themselves generally useful. Apply J. Button, Victoria Mills, Diss, Norfolk. Norfolk News - 15th August 1874 |
Situations Vacant To Journeymen Millers Wanted, a steady experienced Man as STONEMAN & to make himself generally useful in the business. A Cottage on the premises. Apply at once to Mr. Button, Victoria Mills, Diss, Norfolk. Norfolk News - 13th November 1875 |
INDENTURE Osborn Tippell of Stuston, Farmer to Henry Pike of Hoxne, Farmer & John Button of Diss, Miller, for benefit of Creditors of Osborn Tippell. Norfolk Chronicle - 20th March 1880 |
Valuable mercantile & residential Properties comprising an excellent Steam & Flour Mill, Post Windmill, four capital Maltings with Barley Stores above & Maltsters houses adjoining, three pleasantly situated Dwelling houses with Gardens, Stables & Outbuildings attached, five Cottages & valuable piece of Building Land situate in the Victoria Road, Diss. |
Diss & Billingford |
To be sold or let, the Victoria Steam and Wind Mills, situated at Diss, containing six pairs of stones, flour machines and other gearing, now in full trade, the present tenant having hired a larger mill. Possession at Michalemas next. Further particulars of W. F. Chaplyn, Diss. The Miller - 2nd October 1882 |
Diss, Norfolk Sale of MERCANTILE & COTTAGE PROPERTY & LAND comprising all that Brick & Tiled Steam Flour Mill containing Four Floors, with 14 horse power Engine & 20 horse power Boiler, driving Four Pairs of 4 ft. French Stones, Flour Mill & Gearing. The POST WINDMILL with Brick Round House, driving Two Pairs of 4 ft. French Stones, Flour Mill & Gearing, Stables, Harness & Hay-house, Cart lodge, Granary & Loose Box. Also … MALTINGS … COTTAGES … Meadow Land, the whole containing 1a.0r.5p. & most advantageously situate near the Victoria Road & in close proximity to the Railway Station. IN FERSFIELD … LAND … W.E. Chaplyn has received instructions from the Executors of the late Mr. Wm. Chaplyn to Sell by Auction at the Kings Head Hotel, Diss on Friday 28 August, 1896 at 4 for 5 o’c in the Afternoon. Further Particulars of Messrs. Geo. Lyus & Sons, Solrs. Diss & of the Auctioneer, Diss. Norfolk Chronicle - 15th & 22nd August 1896 |
On the 28th ult. Mr. W. E. Chaplyn brought to the hammer at Diss a steam flour mill of four floors, with a 14h.p. engine and 20h.p. boiler, driving 4 pairs of 4 ft. French stones, with a Post Windmill driving two pairs of 4ft. stones, formerly carried on by the late Mr. William Chaplyn, but this property had to be withdrawn. The Miller - 7th September 1896 |
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3 mills on Stuston Common c.1915 |
The above photograph shows the army from Diss Camp 51 about to give a demonstration with Maxim machine guns on Stuston Common with several civilians looking on. Diss smockmill is to the right, the steam chimney and Rose Lane composite mill to the left of centre and the sails of Victoria Road towermill are just visible on the left horizon above the back of the horse. |
Farther down Victoria Road, in Rose Lane, formerly stood two windmills, both marked on the 1837 Ordnance Survey Map. One, a tower-mill, was built to supply power to a factory spinning coarse yarns, but was later converted and adapted by taking the brickwork down to the third storey, and mounting the body of an old post-mill on top, making for a most unusual structure. It stood on a mound in the yard of Bartrums, and was in the Chaplyn family for generations. The old post-mill had been shattered during a sharp tempest on July 31st 1834, and William Chaplyn, miller, maltster, corn and coal merchant, accordingly decided to combine the two mills into one. This would appear to have worked very successfully , and the business eventually passed to Albert, his grandson, who had the mill pulled down after the First World War. The brickwork remained until demolished by the Lincoln family about 1935, and the mound on which it stood was only removed some two years ago. Diss Antiquarian Society News Sheet - Spring 1973 |
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O. S. Map 1885 Rose Lane Composite mill in malthouse yard, top centre Stuston Rd Smockmill - top centre right Courtesy of NLS map images |
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O. S. Map 1903 Rose Lane Composite mill - in malthouse yard, lower centre right Stuston Rd Smockmill - lower right Victoria Road towermill - centre left Courtesy of NLS map images |
Joseph Hodskinson's Suffolk map 1783: Windmill
1850: William Chaplyn, miller
White's 1854: John W. Sayer, corn miller
1880: John Button, miller
1883: William Edward Chaplyn, miller (wind & steam)
c.1919: Mill demolished
1928: William Horace Lincoln jnr took over the roller mills
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| Nat Grid Ref TM12757910 |
Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2006 |