South Mills Chalton
Front elevation of new South Mills by John Usher in 1873 [CDE2/1]
South Mills lies in the hamlet of Chalton. In 1679 the Manor of South Mills, including the mills, was sold by Thomas Cheyne to Thomas Bromsall and in 1682 South Mills, alias Sow Mills was conveyed by Ralph to his brother John under the terms of their father's will [X612/12-13]. The history of ownership of the mill would have followed that of the Manor of South Mills - for which see the introduction to Chalton.
The terrier of the holdings of the Earls of Kent at Blunham [L33/285] shows that the Bromsall family still owned South Mills in 1719 but by 1784 Robert Thornton was the owner as Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service has a sale catalogue of that year [X612/50] in which he sold "water grist mills".
Either the mills did not sell or they were bought by someone in the family, however, because in 1844 the owner was Stephen Thornton of Mogerhanger House who, in that year, leased the water corn mills called South Mills to Biggleswade bankers William Hogg and Robert Lindsell for twenty one years [HF41/2/1/15]. It was common practice for the tenant miller to own the fittings of the mill and in 1852 the sub-tenant miller Mark John Norman took out a mortgage with Hogg and Lindsell secured on the mill machinery [HF41/2/1/16]. Interestingly in 1813 William Norman had rented Blunham Mills [qv] downstream from South Mills for twenty one years.
An inventory of South Mills was taken on 26 Mar 1852 as part of the mortgage arrangements [HF41/2/1/18] and the description is as follows, please note that the spelling is eccentric and inconsistent to say the least:
"The upstream Mill is a Cast Iron Bevell Mortise Pit wheel geared with oak logs a Cast Iron Waller [Wallower] to work in the same, Cast Iron upright shaft with Budgin [Bridging] Box at the Bottom and Peddestall and Brasses at the top of the same".
"The downstream Mill a sixteen feet Water Wheel with cast Iron arms two wood Rims a Cast Iron shaft with four Pedestals, Brasses, Coupling Box and Bolts &c as fixed. Cast Iron Bevel Mortise Pit Wheel Geared with oak logs a Cast Iron Wallower to work in the same three pair of four feet four Inch punch stones, three stone cases, Hoppers, hopper ladders &c, three wrought Iron Spindles Mases [maces] & centre Bars, two cast Iron Spur pinions one wood with three cast Iron neck Boxes with brasses screws &c, three cast Iron Bridging Boxes with brasses screws &c, three fixd [?] spindles, two sets of raising Irons for raising pinions out of Gear, Flour Machine Cylinder with barrel Brushes cast iron Wheels and Drum at the Head and strap for driving the same".
In 1853 Charles Powers took the lease of South Mills [HF41/2/1/22]. He used the mills to produce oil cake rather than flour. He died in 1873 and the trustees of his will put his nephew Edward Frederick Powers in as manager of what was now called Charles Power & Company. A fire occurred at the mills in the year of Charles' death which caused their complete destruction. The drawings accompanying this article are by Bedford architect John Usher for the replacement mill buildings and photographs taken just before the mills were demolished in the late 20th century show that the plans were adhered to.
Side elevation of new South Mills by John Usher in 1873 [CDE2/1]
Frederick Edward's brother Hugh E. became a sleeping partner in Charles Powers & Company in 1880 and did nothing to restrain the dangerous practice his brother developed of speculating in oil cake from abroad. The company owned not just South Mills but Biggleswade Mills, Holme Mills and Langford Mills but in 1884, as a result of poor speculation and swindles it went bankrupt. The firm continued in administration for some years as attempts were made to mortgage or sell the mills which eventually came to fruition in 1899 when Charles Beeson bought them, his entry in Kelly's Directory for 1903 reads "chemical manure manufacturer, bone mills and horse slaughterer", the mills were obviously now being used to grind up animal bone for fertiliser. Directories reveal that by 1914 the firm was being run by the executors of Charles Beeson, the firm becoming Beeson brothers by 1920 and were still at the Mills in 1940, the date of the last Kelly's held by Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service.
Bankruptcy is sad but the death of a child is even more so. On 9 Jul 1921 Alexander Cheverton, a choirboy at Blunham church, had drowned at the mills. He was most likely the son, or similarly close relative, of William Cheverton who is listed as a leather dresser (to begin with as W.Cheverton & Company, latterly just as William Cheverton) at South Mills for most of the early 20th century.
Abbey Corrugated works at South Mills in March 2007
Usher's spendid mill buildings were demolished in 1966 and the site at the time of writing [March 2007] is occupied by a firm called Abbey Corrugated Limited, a corrugated sheet manufacturer with another site in Kettering [Northamptonshire] and forming part of the D.C.Smith Plc group of companies.