Hulls Mill

This is a watermill dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, with an adjoining building converted into a dwelling during the 1960s. The main structure is timber framed and weatherboarded, with a ground floor of painted brick. It has a grey slate roof and a central gabled lucam. The second floor features a five-window range of small-paned horizontal sliding sashes, while the first floor has four ranges of small-paned vertically sliding sashes and a central vertically boarded door. To the right is a further four ranges of mainly small-paned vertically sliding sashes, with a vertically boarded stable door. The rear has three gables. A two-storey range with a flat-roofed 20th-century porch is located on the left return, being weatherboarded with a painted brick base and a grey slate roof. This range has a four-window range of small-paned horizontal sliding sashes to the first floor, and two round-headed small-paned windows on the ground floor. A mill has been present on this site since 1086. It was part of the Lord Bourchiers’ endowment to Bourchier Chantry Halstead until around 1545, when Edward VI granted it to William Parr. Historical records detail its ownership until 1918, when the original wooden water wheel was replaced with a water turbine. This was subsequently replaced by an oil engine that drove three pairs of millstones, although it is possible that originally six pairs were driven. The mill was operated from 1930 to 1950 by Hovis Ltd, the last commercial operators, before it was converted into a dwelling.