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Eddington mill is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The manor of Eddington is listed in Domesday as covering nearly 1,000 acres, and having a mill and 34 acres.
The 1844 edition of The Miller states that Eddington Mill was well known throughout the West Country.
An aeriel view of Eddington Mill, c.2023
Photo Gallery:
Eddington Mill. (Kingsway Series) (From Robert James)
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Blotter advertising R J Robinson at Eddington Mill c.1930 (from Stewart Hofgartner).
- Various pics of Eddington Mill.
- R J Robinson, Miller (at Eddington Mill), flour sack 1925, 3s 0d.
- Blotter advertising R J Robinson at Eddington Mill c.1930 (from Stewart Hofgartner).
Early records of Eddington Mill:
Tom Hine kindly contacted the Virtual Museum and added the following information:
1336 (VCH) Mentioned
1337 (VCH) Mentioned
1525 (VCH) Two mills in Eddington
1588 (VCH) Two mills in Eddington
1780 (VCH) Two mills in Eddington
1775 John Gaisford (owner); Joseph Fisher (tenant miller)
1791 Samuel Perkins, tenant miller
1796 Elizabeth Hillier
1812 John Hogsflesh
1812 Joseph Atherton
1823 Joseph Atherton
1830 Joseph Atherton
1823 James Langford & John Hogsflesh
1830 James Langford & John Hogsflesh
[1839-49 George Taylor, miller of Eddington, held a deposit account at the Hungerford Savings Bank, see Ledger 2]
1847 William Hogsflesh. (The Hogsflesh family ran the mill for three generations. They originated from Kent)
1864 William Hofland (name changed from Hogsflesh)
1869 William Hofland
1877 Robert Newton Hofland (Snr & jnr)
1887 Robert Newton Hofland (Snr & jnr)
1895 Robert Newton Hofland (Snr & jnr)
Eddington Mill since c1900:
A detailed account of Eddington mill can be found in The Miller, dated 3 Dec 1894.
The mill had been converted to roller mills (Turner's System), and was said to be giving very satisfactory results.
Upstream of Eddington Mill is a fine lake. A photograph (in the Photo Gallery) shows dredging work in progress, with Eddington Mill at the far end of the excavations, on the left.
For three generations the mill had been run by the Hofland family (who had changed their family name from Hogsflesh). The Hogsflesh family originated from Kent.
Mr R N Hofland himself had supervised the tricky job of installing the twin "Hercules" turbines (33 and 27 ins) in a turbine pit which replaced the old traditional water-wheel. The detailed layout of the mill machinery can be seen on the report in The Miller.
In the 1890s, Eddington mill still sold much of its flour to Bath and the West Country.
By 1925 the mill was run by Robert John Robinson. It was still powered by the 33" and 27" Hercules turbines.
See photo of R J Robinson, Miller (at Eddington Mill), flour sack 1925, 3s 0d.
See photo of Blotter advertising R J Robinson at Eddington Mill c.1930 (from Stewart Hofgartner).
The mill continued to mill flour until c1952, after which it was used for fertiliser storage..
The Hoflands sold the mill to William Ware, who in turn sold it to Mr Peters snr .
In the 1980s it was owned by Mr Peters son Robert Peters. (Robert James says that he became Secretary to the Institute of Advanced Motorists, and moved from the adjacent cottage into the mill house on his father's death c1958).
The mill finally closed for commercial business in 1959.
When Ken Major surveyed the mill in 1963 he wrote "Took photo of stones. Mill used for storage".
A visit was made by members of the HHA and Ken Major on 28 Nov 1987, when Robert Peters showed us the whole mill.
The Listing of Eddington Mill:
Eddington Mill (Mill House and Mill) are Listed Grade II (11 Sep 1987). The entry records: "Mill house and mill. Late c18-early c19 alterations particularly to mill. 3 storeys. mill with basement; 3-bay house, 4-bay mill. Brick; slate roofs.
House: central door under fanlight with radial glazing bars in round-arched surround with impost and keystones flanked by later ashlar, canted bay windows with sashes and segmental relieving arches in brickwork above; sashes with glazing bars under keyed flat brick arches to 1st and 2nd floors; end stacks and another to rear left; set back on left is single-storey screen wall with door masking side outshut.
Slightly lower mill on right has segmental-arched, 16-pane fixed windows with projecting cills, except for shorter 2nd-floor windows to right hand bays; right bay is blind on lower floors and has wooden triangular pigeon-cote attached at 1st floor level; circular ends of tie bars; hipped-roofed dormer on ridge at left end.
Right return (mill); changes in brickwork indicate enlargement of mill; ground and 1st floor loading doors with gantry above in gable which is flanked by 12-pane segmental-arched windows with chamfered brick cills; a similar window to ground-floor left, and to the added range on right which is under continuation of roof.
Interior: iron machinery and turbines survive largely intact in mill."
Eddington Mill river restoration works, 2021:
In May 2016 a major weir structure failed on the River Kennet at Eddington Mill. Whilst this event reinstated the previously-impounded gradient up-stream of the weir, the sudden drop in water level left an over-wide, linear channel, with high banks and heavy bed scour. The concrete remnants of the weir remained in situ forming an on-going barrier to fish passage.
In the autumn of 2021 Cain Bio-Engineering (CBE) was engaged in a ‘design/build’ river restoration project to construct a ‘nature-like’ fish bypass channel with wet woodland features, restore and enhance the main river Kennet upstream of the weir and landscape the lake and surrounding land in this public setting close to Hungerford town centre.
Cain Bio-Engineering Ltd have kindly allowed us to include a link to their very interesting Report on the project.
The Canal Wharf, 2011