Description
A tide mill or tidal mill is worked by harnessing the ebb and flow of the sea. They were situated on tidal river estuaries, away from the waves but near to the sea, and comprised of a mill, outbuildings, a dyke, dam or causeway and millpond beyond. Tide mills date from Saxon times, or even the Roman period. Most are now gone, but some can still be traced today as ruins, scanty remains and earthworks. Some are in use as homes, while in some cases only the millpond survives, often in use as a nature reserve, marina or yacht basin. It is said that Chichester Harbour has the largest concentration of tide mills in the country and at Eling, near Southampton, in Hampshire, a tide mill survives in working order to produce flour today. The old Flood Mill at Deptford was rebuilt as a steam flour mill, where only the Mumford's Mill still stands. That at Faversham became Twymans Mill, which still stands today and is now a block of flats.In Tide Mills of Southern England author Alex Vincent surveys
