The use of water power in Britain was at its peak just before the Industrial Revolution. The need for power was great and steam power had not yet become established. It is estimated that at this time there were well in excess of ten thousand watermills in the country. Most of these were corn mills (to grind flour), but almost any industrial process needing motive power, beyond that available from the muscles of men or animals, used a water wheel, unless a wind mill was preferred.
Today only a fraction of these mills survive. Many are used as private residences, or have been converted into offices or flats. A small number have been preserved or restored as museums where the public can see the mill in operation.
This is a list of some of the surviving and demolished watermills and tide mills in the United Kingdom.
England
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
- Bunbury Mill, Bunbury
- Dunham Massey Sawmill, Altrincham
- Nether Alderley Mill, Macclesfield
- Quarry Bank Mill, Styal
- Stretton Watermill, Stretton
Cornwall
- Cotehele Mill, Saltash
- Crumplehorn Watermill, Polperro
- Melinsey Mill, Veryan
- Trewey Mill, Zennor
- Wheal Martyn, St Austell
Cumbria
- Acorn Bank Mill, Penrith
- Boot Watermill, Eskdale
- Gleaston Watermill, Ulverston
- Heron Corn Mill, Milnthorpe
- Little Salkeld Watermill, Penrith Official Website
- Stott Park Bobbin Mill, Ulverston
Derbyshire
- Arkwrights Mill, Cromford
- Caudwells Mill, Rowsley
- Masson Mill, Matlock Bath
- Stainsby Mill, Chesterfield
- Lumsdale Mills, Matlock
Devon
- Clyston Mill, Broadclyst
- Coldharbour Mill, Cullompton
- Docton Mill, Hartland
- Finch Foundry, Okehampton
- Manor Mill, Seaton
- Morwellham Quay, Tavistock
- Otterton Mill, Budleigh Salterton
Dorset
- Castleton Water Wheel Museum, Sherborne
- Mangerton Mill, Bridport
- Sturminster Newton Mill, Sturminster Newton
- Town Mill, Lyme Regis
- White Mill, Sturminster Marshall
- Upwey Mill, Weymouth picture
Durham
Essex
Gloucestershire
- Dean Heritage Centre, Cinderford
- Owlpen Manor, Gloucestershire, with bolting, cleaning and winnowing machinery, dated 1728
Hampshire
- Alderholt Mill, Fordingbridge
- Eling Tide Mill, Eling
- Headley Water Mill, Headley
- Longbridge Mill, Sherfield on Loddon
- Whitchurch Silk Mill, Whitchurch
- Winchester City Mill, Winchester
Hertfordshire
Kent
- Wandle Mill, Benenden
- Crabble Corn Mill, Dover
- Haxted Watermill, near Edenbridge - now a Surrey mill. (Medway)
- Chart Gunpowder Mills, Faversham
- Hever Watermill, Hever (Medway)
- Hythe Watermill, Hythe
- Swanton Mill, Mersham (Stour)
- Periwinkle Mill, Milton Regis
- Ryarsh Mill, Ryarsh (Medway)
- Ashbourne Mill, Tenterden
- See also:-
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
London
Norfolk
- Aldborough Watermill on Scarrow Beck
- Bolwick Hall Watermill on the Mermaid
- Congham Oil Mill near Congham
- Eade’s Watermill at Great Witchingham
- Gimingham Watermill on the River Mun
- Gresham Watermill, Gresham,
- Gunton Park Sawmill, Gunton Park, North Norfolk
- Heacham Watermill
- Hempstead Watermill
- Kettle Watermill in King’s Lynn
- Letheringsett Watermill, Holt
- Mundesley Watermill on the River Mun
- Narborough Bone Mill on the River Nar, West Norfolk
- Sheringham Watermill in North Norfolk
- Snettisham Watermill
- Weybourne Watermill
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
- Cuckney Mill, Cuckney
- Fiskerton Mill, Fiskerton
- Ollerton Mill, Ollerton
- Rufford Mill, Rufford
- Warsop Mill, Warsop
Oxfordshire
Shropshire
Somerset
- Bishop's Lydeard Mill, Bishops Lydeard
- Burcott Mill, Burcott, Somerset
- Claverton Pumping Station, Claverton
- Combe House Hotel (originally a tannery) Holford
- Dunster_Working_Watermill, Dunster
- Gants Mill, Pitcombe
- Hornsbury Mill, Chard
- Saltford Brass Mill, Saltford
- Wookey Hole Paper Mill, Wells
Staffordshire
- Brindley Water Mill, Leek
- Cheddleton Flint Mill, Cheddleton
- Mosty Lea Mill, Stone
- Shugborough Estate Mill, Stafford
Suffolk
Surrey
- Cobham Watermill, Cobham
- Haxted Watermill, near Edenbridge (Medway)
- Shalford Mill, Guildford
- See also:-
Sussex, East
- Michelham Priory Mill, Hailsham
- Park Mill, Etchingham
- Tide Mills, Newhaven
- See also:-
Sussex, West
Tyne and Wear
Warwickshire
- Charlecote Mill, Stratford-upon-Avon
- New Hall Mill, Sutton Coldfield
- Sarehole Mill, Hall Green, Birmingham
- Wellesbourne Watermill, Wellesbourne
Wiltshire
Yorkshire, North
- Fountains Abbey Mill, Ripon
- Howsham Mill, Malton
- Pateley Bridge Watermill, Harrogate
- Raindale Mill, York
- Tockett's Mill, Guisborough
Yorkshire, South
- Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, Sheffield
- Shepherd Wheel, Sheffield
- Wilsons of Sharrow, Sheffield
- Top Forge, Thurgoland
- Worsbrough Mill, Barnsley
Yorkshire, West
Worcestershire
Scotland
Aberdeenshire
Angus
Dumfries and Galloway
- New Abbey Mill, New Abbey,
East Lothian
Orkney
North Ayrshire
Perthshire
Shetland
Western Isles
Northern Ireland
County Down
County Fermanagh
County Tyrone
Wales
Anglesey
pictures from melin howell in llanddeusant n 2008.
Cardigan
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Glamorgan
- Gelligroes Mill, Caerphilly
- Cardiff: St Fagans - Working
- Y Felin Dolwys, Parkmill
Gwynedd
Pembrokeshire
- Carew Castle tide mill
- Pembroke tide mill
Powys
Channel Islands
Jersey
Isle of Man
See also
- List of windmills
- Windmill
- Windpump
- Tide Mill
- Martin Watts: Watermills, Shire Publications Ltd, UK, 2006