Monument record MDR3232 - Possible early mill site east of Bradbourne Mill, Bradbourne

An early mill site recently subjected to drainage. Timbers were revealed underlying the dam and further earthworks were identified downstream. The site is a quarter of a mile upstream from the present mill and comprises a clay dam , 2 or 3 weirs, a mill race and a timber structure. Some timber was taken by John Collis to Sheffield for C14 dating. (1) In the winter of 1975-6, while engaged in land drainage in the bed of a disused dam connected with Bradbourne Mill, a number of well-preserved timbers were encountered. The dam consists of a bank of clay 1.5m high and 12m across, narrowing to 5-6m where the timbers were found. The timbers may be the base plate for a sluice gate inserted to allow the dam to be emptied, although precisely how they functioned is unclear. Samples from three timbers were taken for C14 and dendrochronological dating. Two of the timbers could not be dated; however the third produced a C14 date of AD1850 plus or minus 70 and a felling date of 1836-37 from dendrochronology. This relatively modern date was unexpected archaeologically and also from the evidence of the wood, which was blackened through to the pith, suggestive of a much older date. (2) Two years after the initial dating of one of the timbers new reference chronologies for dating oak timbers became available. Recent re-examination of the other two timbers provided a date for the growth rings of AD 1424-1570, with remnants of sapwood enabling a felling date of around AD 1580 to be estimated. (3)