Once upon a time on the shores of Ashlett Creek, way, way down in the deepest New Forest of Hampshire, a tired old tide mill ceased her arduous work of providing flour for the bread to feed countless mouths, both on shore and at sea.  Her bones were laid bare after machinery was removed to house 4 score of labouring men who were constructing a massive development to refine a new type of power, and the mill lost her heart as the millstones were spirited away and her use was simply as a shell.  Ninety years on and now hosting a club house where travellers, especially sailors, could once again find food and shelter,  new generations of men and women desired to make known the history and chequered life of Ashlett Tide Mill. Here is the moving story which once fell on stony ground and how one part of Ashlett’s downtrodden heart was found in a garden pathway,  just half a mile away up the hill towards Fawley.  The garden’s owner, Mr. Dana Mungapen, was delighted for the millstone to be returned, as he said, “to its rightful place, the mill.” And he welcomed the plucky gang of five who arrived to carry out the task.

We were very fortunate that Go Plant Equipment Hire supplied the truck with a crane to transport it to the mill, very generously free of charge and out of hours! Thought to be Derbyshire Peak stone, it is currently in storage awaiting advice on its conservation, and verification of type, before being put on display in the foyer.

Bottom row photos: Dana Mungapen bids adieu to the millstone then John White steadies it as it is gradually winched back to the mill building.   Many thanks to Tim for allowing us to reproduce his photographs and supplying the details.  Let’s hope that the other millstone will be reunited with the mill too. – Ed.

All photographs ©Tim Woodcock

The Ashlett Tide Mill’s stones may have come from the Peak District in Derbyshire and here, from an article by Professor Alan McEwen on the internet, is a little about them. 

The Millstone Grit quarry is also known as a ‘Delph Hole’ and is located at Burbage Edge.  Alan and his wife Christine visited it on a very hot summer’s day in 2012.  He records their first sighting thus:

“We were amazed and excited too, for we had purposely driven over 100 miles from our home in North Yorkshire to seek out and photograph these enigmatic millstone curiosities, produced by Victorian stone- masons.  To our astonishment we soon discovered large numbers of these millstones lying abandoned all around us.”      Sheila.