Woodbridge Tide Mill

The River Deben has powered a corn mill on this site since at least 1170. taking advantage of the substantial 3-4 metre tidal range and the large 7.5 acre mill pool shown on the map. After an illustrious history with many owners including the Augustinian Priors, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Thomas Seckord, and with periods of serious decay, repairs and structural alterations, the original mill and granary were substantially rebuilt in the 1970s to produce the Tide Mill as seen today. With shipments of corn and flour to and from the equally historic quay, the mill became the last working tide mill in the country until mechanical deterioration brought its commercial life as a tide mill to an end with a fractured waterwheel shaft in 1957.The mill having no evident commercial future, the mill pool was sold to become the present yachting marina and the mill deteriorated even further. A local philanthropist, Mrs Jean Gardner, determined that the mill should be preserved for the benefit of future generations and bought it at auction in 1968, and with a team of local volunteers embarked on a restoration programme. By 1973 the first stage was complete and the mill was opened to the public for the first time. Following the creation of a new but much smaller pool, the waterwheel started turning again in 1982. The neighbouring granary was restored in 1990 and converted to a number of residential apartments and a small cottage, and the Tide Mill quay was rescued from dereliction in 2004. In 2005, the further deteriorating condition of the mill was causing concern and a second major restoration project was planned. By 2012, this resulted in the restored and improved mill. Visitors today can see once again the Tide Mill grinding corn into flour, as it has done for over 800 years.