Christopher A Strickland Photography
The Old Mill by the Ford
This lovely white boarded house is actually Hull's Mill, a historic water mill on the banks of the River Colne between the villages of Great Maplestead and Sible Hedingham, Essex. A mill has been on the site since Domesday book times, and it was rebuilt for the last time in 1848. Hull's was once a busy little mill, grinding grain for flour to make bread through peacetime and two wars for Hovis Bakeries from l917 -1959. Both the mill and the lane were then renamed Hovis and although Hovis had to keep up with technology and removed the wheel, which was replaced with a turbine,they were enlightened owners and kept the exterior of the mill in first rate condition. It has subsequently been converted into a rather fine house. The original and very beautiful fifteenth century mill house stands just the other side of the exceedingly narrow road. The ford on the Hedingham side of the mill always has a reasonable flow of water across it, and sometimes unreasonable. A measuring post gives adventurous motorists a good idea of what their chances of survival are. It is now a well-lived-in house cared for by the current owners, with some assistance from Essex Council. It is a very attractive but almost sad reminder of a once thriving industry and profession now all but laid to rest in history books. There are still millers around here and there, but mostly they work for the national government or local councils in the historic heritage preservation field. So much for Windy Miller, eh? I made this image with a Nikon 35mm camera, on Fuji Velvia 200 ISO color film in 2006. It has been transferred to digital imagery and put through software to correct flaws, color degradation, and shadows / lighting.
The Old Mill by the Ford
This lovely white boarded house is actually Hull's Mill, a historic water mill on the banks of the River Colne between the villages of Great Maplestead and Sible Hedingham, Essex. A mill has been on the site since Domesday book times, and it was rebuilt for the last time in 1848. Hull's was once a busy little mill, grinding grain for flour to make bread through peacetime and two wars for Hovis Bakeries from l917 -1959. Both the mill and the lane were then renamed Hovis and although Hovis had to keep up with technology and removed the wheel, which was replaced with a turbine,they were enlightened owners and kept the exterior of the mill in first rate condition. It has subsequently been converted into a rather fine house. The original and very beautiful fifteenth century mill house stands just the other side of the exceedingly narrow road. The ford on the Hedingham side of the mill always has a reasonable flow of water across it, and sometimes unreasonable. A measuring post gives adventurous motorists a good idea of what their chances of survival are. It is now a well-lived-in house cared for by the current owners, with some assistance from Essex Council. It is a very attractive but almost sad reminder of a once thriving industry and profession now all but laid to rest in history books. There are still millers around here and there, but mostly they work for the national government or local councils in the historic heritage preservation field. So much for Windy Miller, eh? I made this image with a Nikon 35mm camera, on Fuji Velvia 200 ISO color film in 2006. It has been transferred to digital imagery and put through software to correct flaws, color degradation, and shadows / lighting.