Thurnham Mill, Otham Lane, Kent

Thurnham Mill is regarded as one of Bearsted and Thurnham's special treasures. My thanks go to the Bearsted and Thurnham Society Newsletter, April 2007 for information on this mill.

The origins of milling near this site can be traced back to the Domesday Book when 'Turneham' was recorded as having one mill which then stood 200 yards upstream of the present site. It first appeared on a map in 1707 marked 'Corn Mill' when it was shown as spanning the River Len, but conveyances record its ownership as passing in turn from Edmund Chamber de Thurnham in 1624 to Ellis Ellis of Otham, William Cage of Milgate, William Barber, John Bovis and finally, in 1777 to Richard Ballard, after which it became known as Ballard's Mill, appearing under that name on a map of 1815. In earlier times there appear to have been two mills on the site, one used for corn and the other for cloth fulling and, later, hemp.

Sometime before 1829 the old mill was pulled down and the Cage family built the present delightful weatherboarded one pictured here beside the lovely little stone bridge over the Len on the Otham Lane, on a piece of land in the Milgate estate called Byfrance.

The last miller was Albert Wratten of Hollingbourne. Milling ended during World War II when the mainshaft broke, having had a narrow escape before that when an unexploded shell was found lodged in the machinery during corn milling.

Nice to find out about places on your own doorstep. Walking in and around Bearsted has opened our eyes to local historical sites and events that normally little attention would be paid. Shame about the gazebo though.