Monument record 7420/1 - Little Mill, Littlemilne

Owned by Manor.

{1} The manor was exceptional in having two watermills in 1086, but only a single mill with a miller, worth 20/-, is mentioned in 1125-8. It is referred to again in 1281. In 1321 two water mills, one presumably the fulling mill, were worth 73/4d, providing a profit of 13/4d, although elsewhere in the same document there is a contradictory reference to only one water and one wind mill, the former being fed by the fishpond. The latter must surely be the Little Mill.
The water mill is variously recorded in 1405 and 1488 and is only separately valued in 1518-19, at £8/13/4d. As late as 1543-4 two mills are recorded, but it is clear from a reference of 1528-9 that by this time both were under one roof. This may explain the presence of the double leet in 1728 at the mill on the river Ise. The mill holme which lay adjacent, is presumably the ‘Milneholme’ of 1291, suggesting that this mill was already in existence by then.
In 1405 the water mill on the stream to the west of the town was called ‘littlemilne’ The reference to a toft adjacent to the pond of the mill and the description of the lane as leading to the mill would indicate that it was still in existence in 1405. It was presumably the mill fed by the fishpond in 1321. It must have gone out of use between 1405 and 1488, when only one watermill is recorded. By 1721 all trace of the mill had gone although the close at the end of the lane was still known as Dam Meadow while at the end of the lane lay the Mill Plank, giving access across the stream.

<1> Foard G.F., 2000, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Kettering (Medieval + Post Medieval), (checked) (Digital archive). SNN100747.

Record last edited

Nov 14 2003 2:09AM