HISTORY OF
LITTLE HALLINGBURY MILL
Records state that
'Tednam Mill' as it was once originally called, was leased, in
1641, to Robert Merry Miller for twenty-one years, for use as a
grist mill. In the records of St. Mary's Church, Little
Hallingbury, there is the entry: 'About 1683 it [Tednam Mill] was
wholly built anew from the very foundations in order to be used
and employed about winding of fine raw silks and the said mill
was from that time used as a silk mill until the year 1778 when
it was converted into a corn mill.'
Reliable deeds date from about 1827 when a mortgage was agreed
between George Pavitt, and Messrs William Hasildine Pepys and
Edward Pepys, for the sum of £2305.00 plus interest at 5% per
anum.
The property consisted of, and I quote: `All that dwelling house with outbuildings, yards and gardens and all that WATER CORN MILL and a piece of meadow ground containing in the whole 2? acres or thereabouts with the head of water situate in the Parish of Little Hallingbury together with parcel of land of about 5 acres also all that WINDMILL [This mill stood due SE ofthe Water Mill] built by George Pavitt upon the parcel of land called Seedcrops.'
The property passed to
Joseph Edward Holdsworth (a tallow merchant) of Mile End Road who
subsequently purchased various additional parcels of land; let or
leased to varied tenants for such sums as 4/- (twenty new pence)
per annum. Most of these pieces of land, although with names
which exist to this day within the village, are now part of
private estates, for example; Little Long Bar, Bursteads,
Barncroft etc.
After Holdsworth, the next owners were the Scrutton family of 8,
Gracechurch Street, under the will of Joseph Edward Holdsworth
about 1889. Then in turn all the property came into the ownership
of Silvester Edwards of Bishop's Stortford. This firm still
operates a modern corn mill in Bishop's Stortford.
In 1900 the Mill and hereditaments were offered for auction and
raised the sum of £1500. Purchased by George A. Wallis who in
turn passed the property by sale to the family of Sam Ellis who
continued to mill until 1952 when it was shut down as being
uneconomic as at the
time it was only producing some 8-10 sacks of flour per day, as
already mentioned. It is interesting to note that although the
mill was rebuilt in 1874, no document has been found recording
the fact, or regarding the disposal of the Windmill.
