Monument record MDR11582 - Park Mill (site of), Alfreton Brook, Alfreton

The earliest reference to a corn mill at Alfreton at present is in 1324, when Lawrence de Chaworth was fined 100s for a mill and lands, although there was probably a corn mill before that time, as suggested by the presence of a Robert 'Molendinar de Auferton' in the Pipe Rolls of 1225. In the 13th century the lord of Alfreton received a triangular piece of land lying on the north side of the Grivell (Alfreton Brook) as part of an exchange with the lord of Shirland. A water mill was then constructed there on the same site as a mill depicted on the enclosure map. However, there are no references to the mill or millers between 1324 and the early 19th century and the mill may therefore have gone out of use for a long period. The remains visible today are associated with the post-medieval mill. (1) Although not recorded in the Domesday Book, Park Mill has been traced back to c. 1212 when in an exchange of land, William, Lord of Alfreton, received a piece of land in Shirland Park including the Alfreton Brook and soon built a mill on the site. In 1744 the mill was advertised for sale in the Derby Mercury, together with a horse mill and a kiln. Park Mill was named as such in Burdett's survey of 1767. Land adjacent to the mill was for sale in the Derby Mercury in 1804. The mill was built by the brook and survived until late Victorian times, the wheel being removed during the First World War. The leats and mill pond are still visible. (2). The dried-up mill pond still survives, as does the goyt and part of the tail race. The Pipe Rolls of 1225 refer to Robert molendinus de Alfreton. In 1823 the mill was associated with James Walters, and it is shown on maps of 1836 and 1840. (3)