Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

The site of the former corn mill(s) at Temple Ewell.

Monument Types

• CORN MILL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1790 AD to 1967 AD)
• STEAM MILL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1790 AD? to 1967 AD)
• WATERMILL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1790 AD to 1967 AD)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Two corn mills formerly existed in Temple Ewell. Both mills survive in the form of a weather-boarded private house, formerly the water mill (Stanleys Mill). The Dover Operatic & Dramatic Society occupies the former steam mill.

Both lie in the Temple Well Conservation Area and give a visual reminder of how mill complexes were established in the early C.19. The water mill in particular stands in close relationship with the River Dour with its millraces and water management features demonstrating the combination of factors needed to support the many corn mills which were set up to supply troops during the Napoleonic Wars. (1)

Although it has its origins in Saxon times (five watermills were said to exist in Temple Ewell in the Domesday Book) the current water mill was built around 1790 and survived as a working mill until the 1960s. The last overdrift wheel which has now been encased in concrete was built by Holmans of Canterbury in 1914.

The steam mill was powered by a single cylinder internal combustion engine with a flywheel measuring 150 cm in diameter housed within a strong mesh cage. An air raid shelter exists to the left of the mill.

Dover District Council, 2013, Dover District Heritage Strategy (Bibliographic reference). SKE31372.

Sources and further reading