Monument record MDR10103 - Middle Mill (site of), Duffield

SK 33900 43476. Middle Mill, Mill Lane, Duffield. Two mills are recorded in Domesday Book at Duffield. Records of the Duchy of Lancaster dated 1497 state that 'The corne milles and the sythe mills of duffield and hasilwood are letton to Nicholas Khyson for a 20 year term'. By the 19th century three corn mill sites, known locally as Lower, Middle and Top Mills, can easily be identified on the River Ecclesbourne at Duffield. One of them was, for at least part of its life, a paper mill. However, the proximity of these mills and the fact that the trade directories of the 19th century rarely nominated the precise mill in which a miller worked makes it difficult to be certain who worked where. Even the names given to the mills themselves appears to have been somewhat flexible. In 1835 three millers and one paper maker are listed in a trade directory. In 1841 there are 6 millers and a millwright, together with three paper makers, whilst in 1851 seven millers and six paper makers worked in the village. There is therefore a considerable problem in allocating, with any certainty, individuals (and functions) to a particular mill. Middle Mill may well be the oldest of the Duffield mills and could date back to Domesday. The last mill building was a large three-storey stone structure with an integral kiln. It was built on a by-pass to the river. An advertisement of 1839 contained two lots relating to water mills; Lot 1 is thought to refer to the Middle Mill. It was described as 'An excellent water corn mill situated in the centre of the village of Duffield in Derbyshire, in the occupation of John Stansby, with a fall of water of nine feet. The machinery in part consists of two new wheels, one 18 and the other 15 feet diameter, two pairs of French stones and a pair of Grey, nearly new, etc. Also a large Paper Mill, built with stone, three storeys high, in the occupation of Mr Samuel Reader, with fall of water of 11 feet. The mill has a cast iron wheel newly repaired'. The mill ceased operating in about 1908 and became part of Hawley's mills (see SMR 19419). The buildings were demolished in the 1960s. (1)