Building record 815/5 - Darnhall Corn Mill

<1> Norris J.H., 1968, The Water-Powered Corn Mills of Cheshire, p.51 (Article in Journal). SCH6001.

A four storey whitewashed brick and slate building containing two water wheels, and still in active use. The mill is on an old site where nearby the Cistercian abbey of Darnhall was founded in 1274 and from where the monks moved to Vale Royal. There is an inscription on the sill of the loading door reading 'W.T.C. 1829' but this refers to a rebuilding.

The pool and the weir are most impressive, with quite elaborate sluice control gears; there are two wheels, one is still in use, and two sets of drives to the stones, one overdrift and the other underdrift. The working wheel is overshot 12' 6" diameter x 6' 0" wide with wood spokes and sole boards and fed from an iron pentrough. The overdrift set drives three pairs of stones of french burr, one pair being 4' 3" diameter and two pairs 3' 0" diameter. The underdrift set drove three pairs of stones but two pairs have been removed. Disconnection of the overdrift drive was by moving the quant or spindle carrying the stone nuts sideways on its bearing by means of an iron lever. The gearing is mainly of iron.

<2> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 57297 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Water-powered mill. Dated on lintel WTC 1829. Whitewashed Flemish-bond brick with slate roof. Entrance front: three bays symmetrically disposed. Central doorway with dated wooden lintel and hoist door to first floor. Iron casement windows to either side of both floors, all of six by seven panes with stone lintels. Right hand reveal: central ground and first floor iron casement windows of six by seven panes with mill race below. Left hand reveal: of five storeys due to fall of land. Some sandstone courses to basement. Iron wheel intact in corrugated iron housing of the overshoot type, probably late nineteenth century in date.

<3> Department for the Environment, Various, Provisional List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, /17/3 1973 (Report). SCH2744.

A rebuilding of an older mill on a possible medieval site.

<4> Cheshire County Council, 1974, County Treasures Record, 4/A.242 (Index). SCH1000.

A fulling mill.

<5> Ashmore, O, 1982, The Industrial Archaeology of North West England, p.40 (Book). SCH3181.

Darnhall Corn Mill on Ash brook, tributary of Weaver. Four storeys, brick-built, whitewashed. Iron frames with small panes in many of windows. Two loading doors on west front: inscription 'WTC 1829' between doors. Two waterwheels: south wheel, overshot, 12 ft 6 in. (3·8m) diameter, wooden main shaft, great spur wheel, stone nuts driving three sets of stones, overdrift. Two sets of stones at north end. Attractive pool to west, sluice with rack-and-pinion paddle gear, stone weir. Working when Norris reported in 1969, now empty.

<6> Bostock, T, 2019, Tony Bostock Local History Articles, Medieval Over and Darnhall, p.7 -8, 21-22 (Web Site). SCH8736.

A rent of £8 for a mill in the Manor of Darnhall is recorded in Pipe rolls from 1237/8. This mill was probably on the Ash Brook rather than the Weaver and in the area of today's Darnhall Mill. There are further references in the following years to repairs to the mill and mill pond, the latter having been created in 1238. In the 1290s there were three mills recorded in the manor of Over and Darnhall. The author suggests that one of these mills was close by the present mill site in Darnhall, one was at the site of the mill in Bradford and the third on the Weaver near to the parish church.

<7> Bott O J P, 1983, Cornmill sites in Cheshire 1066-1850 Part 2, p.55 (Article in Journal). SCH6105.

Cornmills recorded 1187-1286. A watermill which soon became a mill of Vale Royal Abbey. A building and machinery remain but in poor condition (1980). First documentary reference 1252.

<9> Burdett, P. P., 1777, A Survey of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH113.

The symbol for a watermill is depicted on the Ash Brook at Darnhall.

<10> Bryant, A., 1831, Map of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH2114.

The large waterbody to the south and west of the hall, known as the lake on later maps, is not depicted. Instead there is a smaller pond associated with the mill.

<11> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, P 52/4331/8 (1846) & P 146/14/1 (1849) (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

Darnhall Tithe Award apportionment and map recorded as source (EDT 143) by Bott (see 7).

<12> 28DaysLater.co.uk, Various, 28 Days Later (28DL), https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/darnhall-mill-cheshire-apr-2019.117386/ (Web Site). SCH8847.

A forum user reports in April 2019: The roof has been renovated recently and the building is not in bad condition apart from holes in the floors and some propping up of ground floor beams. The important parts of the original machinery are quite complete (drive train, mill stones), but most of the devices for cleaning and sieving have gone. The pond and associated sluices are still extant. Post includes many photographs which are also published via Flickr.

<13> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ6363, 1874-1880 (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.

This map depicts the mill building, labelled Corn Mill. The larger part of the mill pond adjacent to Darnhall Hall is labelled Mill Dam.

The overflow leat is located to the north, running from the mill pond adjacent to the stable block (see CHER 815/7). A weir is located on the leat to the north of the mill building and a further weir is located just above where the leat and tail race meet adjacent to Darnhall Bridge. Sluices are located between the head of the overflow leat and the mill building. They would appear, at least in part, to be associated with the overflow leat. A range of small buildings are depicted to the north of the mill building adjacent to the overflow leat and the sluice.

The tail race runs south-east from the mill building and is labelled Mill Lade. A further leat is depicted running from the larger part of the mill pond (to the north-east of the stable block) to a sluice at its south-eastern end. This, in turn, feeds into the overflow leat.