Publications
The Millers' Tale: Keeping the Priory's watermill working, by Jim Bolter and Wendy Muriel, published December 2011 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 125, article, pp.4-5, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library View Online
Preview:Water power was first harnessed to grind corn in the first century AD. The earliest water wheels were laid horizontally in the bed of a stream and turned a shaft to which a grindstone was attached. The speed of the stone was limited by the speed of the water. The Romans introduced the vertical wheel turned by paddles and gears were used to alter the speed of the stones. This basic design remained in use for centuries.
The first mention of a watermill at Michelham Priory is in 1255 when a lawsuit took place between the Abbott of Battle and the Priory of Michelham about water levels for the mill here. This rumbled on until 1434 when the Prior agreed to pay the Abbot four shillings annually for the right to extract water. Earlier mills are recorded but may not have been located on the exact same site.
The first mention of a watermill at Michelham Priory is in 1255 when a lawsuit took place between the Abbott of Battle and the Priory of Michelham about water levels for the mill here. This rumbled on until 1434 when the Prior agreed to pay the Abbot four shillings annually for the right to extract water. Earlier mills are recorded but may not have been located on the exact same site.