Nether Alderley Mill

Nether Alderley Mill is a 16th-century watermill located in Congleton Road (the A34), to the south of the village of Nether Alderley, Cheshire, England. It is owned by the National Trust,[1] and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[2] It is a unique example of a triple overshot waterwheel system, two of which are in working order.[3] It is one of only four virtually complete corn mills in Cheshire.[1]

Nether Alderley Mill
Nether Alderley Mill
LocationNether Alderley, Cheshire, England
Coordinates53.28290°N 2.23632°W / 53.28290; -2.23632
OS grid referenceSJ 843 763
Built16th century
Restored1967–70
Restored byNational Trust
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated25 May 1952
Reference no.1139592
Location in Cheshire

History

The earliest reference to the mill is in 1290, but this was replaced by the present mill in the 16th century. None of this mill's original machinery has survived. The present mill was the manorial mill of the Stanley family.[3] The machinery was replaced in 1850 and in 1871.[2] From the 1880s to 1914 the mill could be operated by a portable 10 hp steam engine. The mill closed in about 1939, and the building became derelict.[3] It came into the ownership of the National Trust in 1950.[4] The Trust restored the mill into working order in 1967–70.[2]

Architecture and machinery

The mill is constructed in buff-pink ashlar sandstone, and has a long cat-slide roof of Kerridge stone-slate. Its plan is rectangular.[2] The roof weighs about 200 tons, and is carried in an Elizabethan oak frame.[3] The rear wall of the mill forms the dam for the lake supplying the water for the mill; this also acts as a moat for Alderley Old Hall. The water drives two overshot wheels of 12 feet (4 m) and 13 feet (4 m) diameter. Each operates separately, forming in effect two distinct mills with its own machinery, the water passing from the upper wheel to the lower one.[4]

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See also

References
  1. Nether Alderley Mill, National Trust, retrieved 10 March 2012
  2. Historic England, "Nether Alderley Mill and dam wall (1139592)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 10 March 2012
  3. Nether Alderley Mill, Nether Alderley Parish Council, retrieved 10 March 2012
  4. Historic England, "Nether Alderley Mill (76385)", PastScape, retrieved 10 March 2012

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