Bromham
Bromham Mill
Places > Bromham > Mills
There has been a mill on the site by Bromham Bridge since the Domesday Survey of 1086. By 1565 the mill had become the property of Sir Lewis Dyve. Who had bought the manor, and in 1708 a descendent, another Lewis Dyve, sold the manor including the mill to Sir Thomas Trevor. The mill then passed down with the Trevor family estate until the 20th century.
In 1905 the mill was leased to Harry and Walter Quenby whose father Richard Quenby had established the firm R. Quenby and Sons, corn dealers at 30 High Street, Kempston. The mill never produced flour after the Quenbys became owners but instead concentrated on producing a wide variety of cattle, pig and poultry food products. At anyone time there were about six fulltime workers at the mill, three working on milling and three on loading, transporting and dealing with customers.
A Petter oil engine was installed in 1930 to provide auxiliary power for whenever the water level was too low to drive the mill wheels. In 1935 the Great Ouse River Board dictated that when the head of water in the river reached a certain level, the mill could not run on water power. Instead the oil engine provided the complete power to the machinery and the Water Board paid 1 a week compensation. The stream was beginning to silt up badly by this time and the mill only ran occasionally on waterpower after this date.
In 1940 the mill was bought by the Water Board under a Compulsory Purchase Order and rented back to the Quenbys under a 35-year lease. In 1971 the Quenbys moved their business to Turvey. In 1973 Bedfordshire County Council purchased the mill that by then was in a very dilapidated state. On the 20th February a fire started on the upper floor and by the time the fire was brought under control the roof and upper floor had been destroyed. In June 1983 Bedfordshire County Council opened the mill to the public following restoration at a cost of 50,000.
Sources:
-
Newspaper Cuttings Collection, Local Studies Library, Bedford Central Library.
-
ANTROBUS, Stuart Outline Chronological & Historical Sources for Bromham Mill. 1998.
-
Bromham Mill : a brief description of the watermill and village OF Bromham. 1983.
Bromham Mill by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2011
Page last updated: 23rd January 2014