"The Mill at Hampton Lucy"
This painting of Charlecote Mill from the west side and looking across the mill pool was painted in the late 1800's by Fred William Newton Whitehead (1853-1938).

The original painting, through a very generous gift, is now owned by the current Miller at Charlecote.

"Milling locally sourced grains in the traditional fashion since the beginning of the 1750's"

A Brief History of Charlecote Mill
With acknowledgement to Tim Booth and John Bedington

    The mill as you see it today was probably built in the eighteenth century, but on the site of an earlier mill. A mill at Hampton Lucy is even mentioned in the Doomsday Book (compiled 1086).  It was then valued at 6s.8d.
    Little is known of the mills and their millers over the years, but a noticeable incident occurred in 1675 when the miller John Dickens and three other men were indicted for 'the felonious stealing and carrying of two perches and  two pikes of the value of 11d, of the goods and chattels of Richard Lucy  Esq.' Dickens and Robert Nason  confessed, and were sentenced to be 'stripped from the waist downwards and openly whipped through the town of Hampton Lucy till their bodies be bloody'.
    The present mill building and mill house were evidently built by the Lucy estate, and are still owned by Sir Edmund Fairfax Lucy. The present mill, apparently built in 1752, is a particularly fine building, with walls eighteen inches thick. The names of the millers in the nineteenth and early twentieth century can be ascertained from trade directories, etc. 
    The name of one, William Witherington, who was miller from 1845 to 1864, can be seen carved in the brickwork on the top floor. The last millers were Newbery and Son, from 1936 to the 1950's; however, they used mostly an engine-driven hammer mill, and from the time of the Second World War, the only equipment driven by waterpower was the sack hoist.
    From 1978, John Bedington had a lease over the mill and he and Tom Mitchell, aided by a band of helpers too numerous to mention, have done extensive repairs to the roof, windows, floor, stairs and doors, gears, stones, sack hoist and bins and the East water wheel. The West water wheel was repaired in 1978 by the Birmingham millwright Bob Atkins at the expense of the BBC for their film of 'The Mill on the Floss'.

​1845-1864
The miller was William Witherington, who, like the previous millers was also a farmer. It was probably during his occupation of the mill that some of the gearwheels and the rims of the waterwheels, were converted from wood to iron. Mr Witherington’s name appears in two inscriptions in the mill and can be seen on the sack stencil on display on the stone floor, as can his logo that appears on the stencil and on some of the beams in the grain store.  This logo is still in use today

This image is believed to be of Wm Witherington with his staff outside the Mill House

Eel fishing off the head race weir

Charlecote Mill, Mid 19th Century

Original Witherington sack stencil

Traction engine owned by Newberys

Charlecote Mill pre WWII

A Newbery child shovelling hay in the Mill House courtyard

TIMELINE OF CHARLECOTE MILL

1086
Charlecote has two mills valued at 21s and Hampton (Lucy) one mill valued at 6s 8d according to the Domesday Book. Possibly, the present Charlecote Mill was on or near the site of one of these mills.

1728
First known documentary reference to a mill which was definitely on the present site; the miller was Stephen Lewis.

1731-2
Stephen Lewis dies, and the Charlecote Lucy estate, who still own the mill, let it to John Osburn after spending £193-12s-5d on repairs. The repairs include mason’s, millwright’s and blacksmith’s work and two peak millstones, suggesting that the mill was far from new at that point.

1736
The mill features on a beautifully drawn and coloured map of the Lucy estate. The outline of the watercourses is as now, but the outline of the mill different from the present building, though it appears already to have had two water courses.

1752
In December, a lease is granted to John Osborn (presumably the same “John Osburn” as before, or one of his family).

1753
This date is carved on the stone blocks of the headrace of the west waterwheel, under the normal waterline: evidently refers to a covenant by the landlord in the 1752 lease to repair the watercourses.

1772
New lease is granted to John Osborn the elder, Edward Osborn and William Osborn. It makes reference to a sack hoist and flour dresser installed by the Osborns which possibly is the one that still exists today.

1791
Mill features on another map of the Lucy estate, the outline of the watercourses and building being unchanged since the map of 1736.

1806
On the middle floor of the present mill is the inscription “This bed stone was put in 1806”, suggesting either a remodelling of the mill around this time or possibly the date of a rebuild, neither can be definite.

​1845-1864
See separate panel on the left.

1864 to c1900
The miller was Samuel Goff. It was probably during his time that the remaining wooden parts of the waterwheels (except paddles) were converted from wood to iron. In 1890-91, when farming was bad and country mills in decline, Mr Goff was in financial difficulties, and had his rent reduced.

1901-1914
The miller was now Harold Palmer, who also until 1906, was a partner in the next mill upstream at Barford.  The mill at Barford that was easily the size of Charlecote mill is now gone without any trace remaining.

​1914-1929
The millers were Oliver Baker and his brother Roland, though most of the work was done by three employees, one of whom, “Bluey” Harwood, was still remembered locally sixty years later for his habit of giving children rides on the sack hoist. The seat he used is now displayed on the stone floor.
It appears some flour was still being ground, but most of the trade was animal feed.

​1929
Newbery and Son took over the mill, and were agricultural contractors as well as millers and farmers.

c1939
The waterwheels were in poor state and ceased to be used for milling, although the west wheel was cobbled up and used to drive the sack hoist throughout the War. Animal feed was milled using modern machinery turned by line shafting driven initially from a tractor and later by electricity.

c1960
Newberys leave and milling ceases, the mill becomes temporarily derelict.

1978
The BBC use the mill for the filming of a TV adaptation of George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss.  Basic repairs see the West Water wheel turn again.

1978
John Bedington, on the initiative of the owner Sir Edmund Fairfax Lucy, rents the mill and with Tom Mitchell and others repairs it to working order.

1981
Mill first grinds again, and is periodically opened to the public.

1983-2012
John Bedington runs the mill as a full time concern mainly grinding wholemeal flour.

2012
John Bedington retires and Karl Grevatt takes over as miller, in October.