Possible site of Medieval Mill, Old Thorndon Hall (EHER 19619)

The Location of the mill is suggested by documentary evidence: an estate map of 1598 shows a watermill situated at the lower end of the pond in Thorndon Park.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. The Location of the mill is suggested by documentary evidence including the illustration of a building in the centre of the southern edge of Old Hall Pond on Walkers map of 1598. The map shows the Great Pond, three acres in extant about 300 yards to the east of the mansion. On this map at the lower end of the pond is a drawing of a watermill. <1> <2> This area may have been buried by the construction of later dams when the capacity of the pond was increased, particularly during the 18th Century. Earthworks at the base of the present dam may indicate the positions of mill runs and least, although the fragmentary nature of the remains make interpretation of these features difficult. The site is presently in an area of overgrown woodland at the base of the dam on the south side of Old Hall Pond. The site is in moderately stable condition with no obvious threat other than as a result of water erosion from the pond flooding. Any work on the dam should be done in consultation with the ECC Archaeology section. <3> In the eastern part of the wood adjacent to the stream which flows south from the Old Pond are a number of rectangular depressions and other earthwork banks. It is uncertain what the original purpose of these remains, although they may relate to medieval fishponds, post medieval landscaping or multi period quarrying among other explanations. There is no documentary evidence for these remains. The earthworks are within an area of ancient woodland which is overgrown. A survey of surviving earthwork features would aid in the interpretation of the features and there place in the landscape history of this part of the country park. <3> Additional reference <4> - <6>