Taylor's Mill, Stotfold
Information taken from Stotfold Water Mills by Bert Hyde.
Taylor’s Mill can be traced back to the Domesday Survey of 1086. The mill formed part of Brayes and Newnham Manors. In 1624 the mill was in the hands of the Lytton Family of Knebworth who owned the manors of Brayes and Newnham. In 1747, the mill was described as a water corn mill in a description of the manor. The mill was owned by the Lord of the Manor but was let out on lease.
The first known lease was Edward Whitehead, a miller and farmer. He is listed as the occupier in the land tax return of 1783. The mill is now disused and is a private residence. On 5th February 1789 Edward Whitehead put up his lease for sale at an auction held at the George Inn, Baldock. The sale document stated “the lease of a watermill at Stadfold within two miles of Baldock, which will break about 150 loads of wheat per week with a dwelling house etc. nine years of the lease were unexpired at Michaelmas last, at the very low yearly rent of £18”. The lease was purchased by another Edmund Whitehead, possibly a relative.
In 1762 John Robinson Lytton died and in 1795 his heir Richard Warburton Lytton and others put seven of the Lytton properties up for sale, including Taylor’s Mill and the Stotfold Manor. The mill was to be sold separately to the manor. The sale took place on 24th March 1795. Edmund Whitehead bought the mill and continued to own it until 1804 when it was purchased by the Fordham family of Odsey Manor near Ashwell in Hertfordshire.
In 1814 John Taylor Snr. came to the mill as a foreman miller for Mr Fordham. He was a man of faith and a staunch Baptist. As soon as he arrived in the village he borrowed Mr. Munn’s barn on the north-east side of the green for Sundays and started a Baptist Sunday School.
During the Stotfold Riot of 1830, rioters threatened to destroy it. Luckily, the mill was left untouched.
John Taylor Snr’s son, John Taylor Jnr took over the working of the mill and by 1861 was running it by his own account; it was still owned by the Fordhams. The golden age of milling (1750-1850) had come to an end and changes in technique were beginning to take affect. A series of bad harvests in 1875, 1876 and 1877 made things worst. By 1880 John Taylor Jnr had given up milling and had become an assistant overseer. Between John Taylor Snr and Jnr they had controlled the mill for over 60 years and had given their name to both the mill and the road. Between 1881 and 1891 people occupied the mill and it seems to have continued as a working mill.
By the early 1900s the Bowmans of Astwick were running the mill. People are unsure as to why they used the mill as they owned Astwick mill, a few yards downstream and a new steam powered roller mill at Hitchin. Taylor’s mill would have been rather small and old fashioned for them, but it is possible they used the mill as additional storage or to grind animal feed.
The last people to run the mill were the Kitchener family of Church Farm, Astwick. The bought the mill in 1920 from Florence Lady Provost who had it from the Fordhams. The Kitcheners used the mill to grind animal feed. The mill stopped working in 1935 when it was sold to Major Kerr-Smiley of Astwick Mill.
The mill was considered to be quite old fashioned and behind in regard to technical progress. Steam power was not introduced to Taylor’s until after 1906, which was considered quite late. Taylor’s also had an undershot water wheel which was considered less efficient than an overshot wheel.
The water wheel was removed for salvage during the Second World War and the luccam was dismantled and chimney demolished between 1941 and 1953. During this period all the machinery was removed.
The mill was Grade II listed on 2nd January 1985.
List of sources at Bedfordshire Archives:
- PM683 – Sale particulars, 1789
- BP64/40/1 – Photo of Taylor’s Mill, n.d
- Z1306/115/8 – Postcard of Taylor’s mill, c.1920s