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Tide mill

January 07, 2023

This article is about the type of watermill. For other uses, see Tide mill (disambiguation).

A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way gate, and this gate closes automatically when the tide begins to fall. When the tide is low enough, the stored water can be released to turn a water wheel.

Tidal mill at Olhão, Portugal

Tide mills are usually situated in river estuaries, away from the effects of waves but close enough to the sea to have a reasonable tidal range. Cultures that built such mills have existed since the Middle Ages, and some may date back to the Roman period.

A modern version of a tide mill is the electricity-generating tidal barrage.

Early history

See also: List of early medieval watermills

Possibly the earliest tide mill in the Roman world was located in London on the River Fleet, dating to Roman times.[1]

 
Three Mills, Stratford, one of the world's earliest recorded tide mills.

Since the late 20th century, a number of new archaeological finds have consecutively pushed back the date of the earliest tide mills, all of which were discovered on the Irish coast: A 6th-century vertical-wheeled tide mill was located at Killoteran near Waterford.[2] A twin-flume, horizontal-wheeled tide mill, dating to c. 630, was excavated on Little Island in Cork.[3][4] Alongside it, another tide mill was found that was powered by a vertical undershot wheel.[3][4] The Nendrum Monastery mill from 787 was situated on an island in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. Its millstones are 830mm in diameter and the horizontal wheel is estimated to have developed 7–8 horsepower (5.2–6.0 kW) at its peak. Remains of an earlier mill dated at 619 were also found at the site.[5][6]

 
Three Mills, House Mill and Miller's House at low tide

In England, an exceptionally well preserved tidal mill, dated by dendrochronology to the late 7th century (691-2AD) was excavated in the Ebbsfleet Valley (a minor tributary of the River Thames) in Kent during construction of the Ebbsfleet International Station, on the High Speed 1 railway line[7] The earliest recorded tide mills in England are listed in the Domesday Book (1086). Eight mills are recorded on the River Lea (the site at Three Mills remains, with Grade I listed buildings and a small museum), as well as a mill in Dover harbour. By the 18th century, there were about 76 tide mills in London, including two on London Bridge.

Woodbridge Tide Mill, an excellent example, survives at Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. This mill, dating from 1170 and reconstructed in 1792, has been preserved and is open to the public. It was further restored in 2010 and re-opened in 2011 in full working order. It is the second working tide mill in the United Kingdom that is regularly producing flour. Carew Castle in Wales also has an intact tide mill, but it is not operating. The first tide mill to be restored to working order is Eling Tide Mill in Eling, Hampshire. Another example, now extant only in historic documents, is the mill in the hamlet of Tide Mills, East Sussex. Traces of a tide mill may be seen at Fife Ness, revealed through an archaeological survey.[8]

 
Tidal mill at l'île de Bréhat

A mediæval tide mill still operates at Rupelmonde near Antwerp, and there are several that have survived in the Netherlands.

At one time there were 750 tide mills operating along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean: approximately 300 in North America,[9][10] including many in colonial Boston over a 150-year span.[11] In addition, 200 have been documented in the British Isles, and 100 in France.[12] The Rance estuary in France was also home to some of these mills.

By the mid-20th century, the use of water mills had declined dramatically. In 1938, an investigation by Rex Wailes discovered that of the 23 extant tidal mills in England, only 10 were still working by their own motive power. Of one at Beaulieu, H. J. Massingham wrote in the 1940s,

Part of the mill is built on piles into the river and is weatherboarded, while the rest of the building is a warm red brick roofed with lozenge-shaped and rounded tiles which I believe are called fish-tiles. All the interior is of wood – ladders, bins for the meal, floor-boarding, square pillars, beams, narrow passages, fittings, shaft rising to the first floor and all. So ramshackle is the arrangement of the props and supports that it is a wonder that the whole edifice does not tumble about the miller's ears like a pack of cards. The point is that it has stood in this way for something like six centuries, and that gives the explorer into its dusky depths a more penetrating notion of how the old builders could build, more than does a Gothic church or even a cathedral. The pulse and swing of the great wheel sets the whole building in an ague, but it will still be standing when all the flimsy excrescences of development between Beaulieu and Poole have fallen down.[13]

Modern examples

Further information: Tidal power

Newer types of tidal power often propose construction of a dam across a large river estuary. Although hydroelectric power represents a source of renewable energy, each proposal tends to come under local opposition because of its likely adverse effect on coastal habitats. One proposal, which was developed in 1966, is the Rance barrage, which generates 250MW. Unlike historical tide mills, which could operate only on an ebb tide, the Rance barrage can generate electricity on both flows of the tide, or it can be used for pumped storage, depending on demand. A less intrusive design is a 1MW free-standing turbine, constructed in 2007 at Strangford Lough Narrows; this site is close to an historic tide mill.

Surviving tide mills in Britain

 
Fingringoe Tide Mill

See also

References

  1. ^ Spain, Rob: "A possible Roman Tide Mill", Paper submitted to the Kent Archaeological Society
  2. ^ Murphy 2005
  3. ^ a b Wikander 1985, pp. 155–157
  4. ^ a b Rynne 2000, pp. 10, fig. 1.2, 17, 49
  5. ^ McErlean & Crothers 2007
  6. ^
  7. ^ </Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture 2011. Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley. CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet, Kent. The Late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval Landscape
  8. ^ Day of Archaeology
  9. ^ Peveril Meigs, "Historical geography of tide mills on the Atlantic coast," American Philosophical Society Yearbook 1970 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: American Philosophical Society, 1971), pp. 462-464.
  10. ^ Peveril Meigs, "Tide mills on the Atlantic," Old Mill News, no. 7, 1979
  11. ^ "» Tide Power in Colonial BostonThe West End Museum".
  12. ^ Minchinton, W. E. : "Early Tide Mills: Some Problems", Technology and Culture, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct. 1979), pp. 777-786
  13. ^ Skelton, C.P. British Windmills and Watermills, Collins, 1947

Sources

  • McErlean, Thomas; Crothers, Norman (2007), Harnessing the Tides: The Early Medieval Tide Mills at Nendrum Monastery, Strangford Lough, Belfast: Stationery Office Books, ISBN 978-0-337-08877-3
  • Murphy, Donald (2005), (PDF), Estuarine/ Alluvial Archaeology in Ireland. Towards Best Practice, University College Dublin and National Roads Authority, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-11-18
  • Rynne, Colin (2000), "Waterpower in Medieval Ireland", in Squatriti, Paolo (ed.), Working with Water in Medieval Europe, Technology and Change in History, vol. 3, Leiden: Brill, pp. 1–50, ISBN 90-04-10680-4
  • Spain, Rob: "A possible Roman Tide Mill", Paper submitted to the Kent Archaeological Society
  • Wikander, Örjan (1985), "Archaeological Evidence for Early Water-Mills. An Interim Report", History of Technology, vol. 10, pp. 151–179

Further reading

  • Minchinton, W. E. : "Early Tide Mills: Some Problems", Technology and Culture, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct. 1979), pp. 777–786
  • Rynne, Colin: "Milling in the 7th Century – Europe’s earliest tide mills", in: Archaeology Ireland 6, 1992

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tide mills.
  • - catalogue of tide mills by county
  • - detailed documentation of excavation
  • (Spanish)
  • Tide Mill Institute

January 07, 2023
tide, mill, this, article, about, type, watermill, other, uses, disambiguation, tide, mill, water, mill, driven, tidal, rise, fall, with, sluice, created, across, suitable, tidal, inlet, section, river, estuary, made, into, reservoir, tide, comes, enters, mill. This article is about the type of watermill For other uses see Tide mill disambiguation A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir As the tide comes in it enters the mill pond through a one way gate and this gate closes automatically when the tide begins to fall When the tide is low enough the stored water can be released to turn a water wheel Tidal mill at Olhao Portugal Tide mills are usually situated in river estuaries away from the effects of waves but close enough to the sea to have a reasonable tidal range Cultures that built such mills have existed since the Middle Ages and some may date back to the Roman period A modern version of a tide mill is the electricity generating tidal barrage Contents 1 Early history 2 Modern examples 3 Surviving tide mills in Britain 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 Further reading 8 External linksEarly history EditSee also List of early medieval watermillsPossibly the earliest tide mill in the Roman world was located in London on the River Fleet dating to Roman times 1 Three Mills Stratford one of the world s earliest recorded tide mills Since the late 20th century a number of new archaeological finds have consecutively pushed back the date of the earliest tide mills all of which were discovered on the Irish coast A 6th century vertical wheeled tide mill was located at Killoteran near Waterford 2 A twin flume horizontal wheeled tide mill dating to c 630 was excavated on Little Island in Cork 3 4 Alongside it another tide mill was found that was powered by a vertical undershot wheel 3 4 The Nendrum Monastery mill from 787 was situated on an island in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland Its millstones are 830mm in diameter and the horizontal wheel is estimated to have developed 7 8 horsepower 5 2 6 0 kW at its peak Remains of an earlier mill dated at 619 were also found at the site 5 6 Three Mills House Mill and Miller s House at low tide In England an exceptionally well preserved tidal mill dated by dendrochronology to the late 7th century 691 2AD was excavated in the Ebbsfleet Valley a minor tributary of the River Thames in Kent during construction of the Ebbsfleet International Station on the High Speed 1 railway line 7 The earliest recorded tide mills in England are listed in the Domesday Book 1086 Eight mills are recorded on the River Lea the site at Three Mills remains with Grade I listed buildings and a small museum as well as a mill in Dover harbour By the 18th century there were about 76 tide mills in London including two on London Bridge Woodbridge Tide Mill an excellent example survives at Woodbridge Suffolk England This mill dating from 1170 and reconstructed in 1792 has been preserved and is open to the public It was further restored in 2010 and re opened in 2011 in full working order It is the second working tide mill in the United Kingdom that is regularly producing flour Carew Castle in Wales also has an intact tide mill but it is not operating The first tide mill to be restored to working order is Eling Tide Mill in Eling Hampshire Another example now extant only in historic documents is the mill in the hamlet of Tide Mills East Sussex Traces of a tide mill may be seen at Fife Ness revealed through an archaeological survey 8 Tidal mill at l ile de Brehat A mediaeval tide mill still operates at Rupelmonde near Antwerp and there are several that have survived in the Netherlands At one time there were 750 tide mills operating along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 300 in North America 9 10 including many in colonial Boston over a 150 year span 11 In addition 200 have been documented in the British Isles and 100 in France 12 The Rance estuary in France was also home to some of these mills By the mid 20th century the use of water mills had declined dramatically In 1938 an investigation by Rex Wailes discovered that of the 23 extant tidal mills in England only 10 were still working by their own motive power Of one at Beaulieu H J Massingham wrote in the 1940s Part of the mill is built on piles into the river and is weatherboarded while the rest of the building is a warm red brick roofed with lozenge shaped and rounded tiles which I believe are called fish tiles All the interior is of wood ladders bins for the meal floor boarding square pillars beams narrow passages fittings shaft rising to the first floor and all So ramshackle is the arrangement of the props and supports that it is a wonder that the whole edifice does not tumble about the miller s ears like a pack of cards The point is that it has stood in this way for something like six centuries and that gives the explorer into its dusky depths a more penetrating notion of how the old builders could build more than does a Gothic church or even a cathedral The pulse and swing of the great wheel sets the whole building in an ague but it will still be standing when all the flimsy excrescences of development between Beaulieu and Poole have fallen down 13 Modern examples EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Further information Tidal power Newer types of tidal power often propose construction of a dam across a large river estuary Although hydroelectric power represents a source of renewable energy each proposal tends to come under local opposition because of its likely adverse effect on coastal habitats One proposal which was developed in 1966 is the Rance barrage which generates 250MW Unlike historical tide mills which could operate only on an ebb tide the Rance barrage can generate electricity on both flows of the tide or it can be used for pumped storage depending on demand A less intrusive design is a 1MW free standing turbine constructed in 2007 at Strangford Lough Narrows this site is close to an historic tide mill Surviving tide mills in Britain Edit Fingringoe Tide Mill Ashlett Tide Mill Ashlett Hampshire converted as clubhouse Battlesbridge Tide Mill Battlesbridge Essex converted for business Carew Castle tide mill Pembrokeshire Eling Tide Mill Eling Hampshire working Fingringhoe Tide Mill Fingringhoe Essex house converted Newhaven Tide Mills otherwise simply Tide Mills East Sussex sluice only Pembroke tide mill Pembrokeshire mill ponds only Place Mill Christchurch Dorset working order restored Quay Mill Emsworth Hampshire converted as clubhouse Three Mills tide mill Bromley by Bow London Thorrington Tide Mill Thorrington Essex Woodbridge Tide Mill Woodbridge Suffolk working order See also EditWatermills in the United Kingdom Windmill Horse millReferences Edit Spain Rob A possible Roman Tide Mill Paper submitted to the Kent Archaeological Society Murphy 2005 a b Wikander 1985 pp 155 157 a b Rynne 2000 pp 10 fig 1 2 17 49 McErlean amp Crothers 2007 Recently discovered Tide Mill from 787 AD at Nendrum Monastic Site lt Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture 2011 Settling the Ebbsfleet Valley CTRL Excavations at Springhead and Northfleet Kent The Late Iron Age Roman Saxon and Medieval Landscape Day of Archaeology Peveril Meigs Historical geography of tide mills on the Atlantic coast American Philosophical Society Yearbook 1970 Philadelphia Pennsylvania American Philosophical Society 1971 pp 462 464 Peveril Meigs Tide mills on the Atlantic Old Mill News no 7 1979 Tide Power in Colonial BostonThe West End Museum Minchinton W E Early Tide Mills Some Problems Technology and Culture Vol 20 No 4 Oct 1979 pp 777 786 Skelton C P British Windmills and Watermills Collins 1947Sources EditMcErlean Thomas Crothers Norman 2007 Harnessing the Tides The Early Medieval Tide Mills at Nendrum Monastery Strangford Lough Belfast Stationery Office Books ISBN 978 0 337 08877 3 Murphy Donald 2005 Excavations of a Mill at Killoteran Co Waterford as Part of the N 25 Waterford By Pass Project PDF Estuarine Alluvial Archaeology in Ireland Towards Best Practice University College Dublin and National Roads Authority archived from the original PDF on 2007 11 18 Rynne Colin 2000 Waterpower in Medieval Ireland in Squatriti Paolo ed Working with Water in Medieval Europe Technology and Change in History vol 3 Leiden Brill pp 1 50 ISBN 90 04 10680 4 Spain Rob A possible Roman Tide Mill Paper submitted to the Kent Archaeological Society Wikander Orjan 1985 Archaeological Evidence for Early Water Mills An Interim Report History of Technology vol 10 pp 151 179Further reading EditMinchinton W E Early Tide Mills Some Problems Technology and Culture Vol 20 No 4 Oct 1979 pp 777 786 Rynne Colin Milling in the 7th Century Europe s earliest tide mills in Archaeology Ireland 6 1992External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tide mills Tide Mills in England and Wales catalogue of tide mills by county Nendrum Monastery mill detailed documentation of excavation Tide Mills of Western Europe Spanish Tide Mill Institute Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tide mill amp oldid 1125490531, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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