Sir Bob Russell explores the history of Bourne Mill in Colchester

Bourne Mill is the only building in Colchester owned by the National Trust.

It is a gem, well worth a visit. It is one of the town’s overlooked architectural and historic treasures.

Every day thousands of motorists drive past Bourne Pond, off Bourne Road between Mersea Road and the Military Road/Old Heath Road crossroads, but other than perhaps glancing across the water when travelling from west to east how many really appreciate what the building at the head of the water is?

Does it look like a mill? No. Because it was not built as a mill.

It was built in the last decade of the 16th century as a banqueting house and possibly a fishing lodge for Colchester’s leading family, but more of that later.

Today this part of town is a residential suburb but until the closing years of the 19th century there were no other buildings in sight. Bourne Pond was a tranquil retreat in the middle of nowhere.

There is evidence to suggest there was a corn mill and fishing lake there in Saxon times, for in 1096 when St John’s Abbey was established, two existing fishponds and a mill were given to the Abbey.

St John’s Abbey had a brutal and repressive side to its activities for in 1285-86, it is recorded Colchester bailiffs (responsible for the town’s affairs) had complained about gallows and ducking stalls which the Abbey had put at Bourne Pond.

There is also evidence monks from St John’s Abbey fished there over the centuries, presumably up to the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 when the Abbey’s ownership passed to the Crown (Henry VIII).

A significant amount of the material used to build St John’s Abbey came from the remains of Roman buildings in the town and thus was several hundred years old at that time.

And after the Abbey was demolished, some of the material was used to construct the building which later evolved to what we know as Bourne Mill – including some Roman bricks. The distinctive colour of red is clearly visible in the structure of the Mill which means these bricks have been re-cycled twice. I am not aware of any other building in Colchester which has doubled re-cycling as a feature.

In 1544, King Henry VIII sold St John’s Abbey, including the then Bourne Mill, to Richard Duke, clerk to the body responsible for confiscated monastic property and a few months later he sold the mill on to Austin Beriff who was a Colchester alderman and bailiff, a leading clothier in the town.

At some point around 1580-90, he sold it to the Gibson family, who owned Cooks watermill at West Bergholt and a mill at Fordham.

St John’s Abbey was bought in 1548 by John Lucas, MP for Colchester and town clerk. In 1591, his son Sir Thomas Lucas (father to Sir Charles Lucas of infamy because of his role in ruining Colchester in the Civil War Siege of 1648) bought Bourne Mill.

It was Sir Thomas who converted what we call Bourne Mill into the building which is the one we recognise today when viewed across the pond but not from the rear with its 19th century mill gantry “lucum” addition.

He installed grand fireplaces at each end of the main room, with a chimney for each, and with Dutch or Flemish style gables to give the building its distinctive external appearance.

Notwithstanding the role of Sir Charles Lucas in the Siege of Colchester, and his execution, Bourne Mill remained in the ownership of the Lucas family until 1917 when it was sold to the Pulford milling family. It was sold in 1936 and given to the National Trust by an anonymous donor. Corn milling ended.

Bourne Mill was one of three mills on Bourne Brook, a stream which runs from the west of Mersea Road through to the River Colne at The Hythe. Two other water mills, each with its own pond, were Cannock Mill in Old Heath Road and Distillery Mill, which no longer exists.

While the earlier Bourne mills, from Saxon times onwards, were used for grinding corn into flour, around 1640 the current building was converted to a fulling mill to support Colchester’s significant national importance with its bays (or baize) cloth industry, the water driven machinery pounding the cloth as part of its final preparation.

In about 1840, it was converted to a corn mill with the insertion of an upper floor and sack hoist and the cutting of additional doorways in the walls. This use continued for the best part of 100 years. Although no longer a mill, it still has a working waterwheel.

The history of Bourne Mill, with specific reference to its role in Colchester’s textile industry, is the subject of detailed research currently being undertaken by students at the University of Essex. An all-day conference was held recently at the university, in partnership with the National Trust, as part of the project which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Around 150 people attended, including myself.

Experts spoke about Colchester’s now long abandoned textile industry and the history of the town’s mills, both wind and water over the centuries, including from Roman times, with particular reference of more than 1,000 years on Bourne Brook. A map of 1876 shows a second pond, to the west of the current Bourne Pond where today John J. Smith’s funeral furnishers are located.

In the past year there has been significant volunteer efforts to improve the areas around Bourne Mill to make it more accessible for visitors. A toilet has been installed, walkways upgraded and additional car parking places provided.

Bourne Mill is a Grade I listed building. It is open Wednesdays to Sundays from March 16 to October 30, plus Bank Holidays, 11am to 5pm (until 4pm from September 28 to October 30). Admission is adults £3.75p and children £1.90p.