Grey's Mill is a Grade II listed building in the Braintree local planning authority area, England. First listed on 25 June 1974. Water mill.

Grey's Mill

WRENN ID
crooked-spindle-peregrine
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Braintree
Constituency
Witham MP: Priti Patel (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
25 June 1974
Type
Water mill
Address
Grey's Mill, Maldon Road, Kelvedon
OS grid reference
TL 860 182
Coordinates
51.83151, 0.69945
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · EPC · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Grey's Mill is a water and steam mill, later used as a warehouse, constructed in 1858. It is built of painted brick in English bond and comprises five bays aligned northeast to southwest, with an attached engine house consisting of three narrow parallel ranges also aligned northeast to southwest and facing southeast. The mill itself is four storeys high with a loft, while the engine house is single-storey.

The southwest elevation of the mill has two windows on the ground and first floors, three on the second floor, and one on the third floor. All windows are original cast iron casements of twelve lights, with cast iron lintels. A large semi-circular cast iron casement is present in the loft. There are modern double doors on the ground floor, and original double loading doors on the first floor. Giant pilasters are present at the corners and also appear in pairs on each return, with simple brick capitals and bases. The left elevation has five similar windows on the ground and second floors, four similar windows and a central pair of double loading doors on the first floor, and no windows on the third floor. The mill has a low-pitched roof with long overhangs. The engine house features three original cast iron casements with semi-circular heads. The gable of the middle range extends above the outer ranges and contains a round cast iron window.

The mill interior retains much of its original character, although the machinery has been removed. Fine quality imported pine transverse beams, approximately 9.20 metres long, are supported on cast iron stanchions on the ground, first, and second storeys, with replaced wooden posts on the third storey. Roof trusses have two raking struts in each pitch. Original internal stairs extend to the full height at each end of the building. A modern goods lift is located in the front left corner.

The mill was built for George Docwra following a fire that destroyed the previous mill in 1858; the engine house was added before 1872. In 1872 the mill used water and steam power to drive six pairs of stones, with five pairs operating continuously 24 hours a day, six days a week, and it was insured for £2,000. A square chimney, originally located at the rear of the engine house, was demolished in 1976 due to its dangerous lean.

Local climate

Grey's Mill sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 680 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 60% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 20 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 78% of listed buildings. Of these, 10 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Sale history — 12 transactions since 1999
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  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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