Ruins of a old paper mill, on the River Dour, in the Grounds of Kearsney Abbey Park.
River paper mill, the ruins of which can be seen at the bottom of Minnis Lane, is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, as a corn mill and again the corn mill is noted in 1227. By 1472, the village boasted of two water mills, Rakestravis Mill and Ash Mill, both of which were owned by the Maison Dieu. This was a religious hospital founded in 1203 by Hubert de Burgh (–1243) and the Great Chamber or Stone Hall we can still see today in Biggin Street. The two mills were leased for forty years to miller Robert Salter and his heirs at 10shillings a quarter each. The Master of the Maison Dieu, John Clerk (elected 1484-d1534), drew up the transaction but at the time Ash Mill was leased to John le By of Temple Ewell. Thus, it was noted that Salter had to wait until John le By vacated the premises. During the Reformation (1529-1536), the mills were sold but religious persecution in the Low Countries, these days the Benelux countries and consisting of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, between 1567-1573 by the Grand Duke Alva (1507-1582) brought a flood of refugees to England. Among them were paper makers and early records show that some settled alongside the Dour. It is believed that it was one of these refugees that converted the former corn mill into a paper mill.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Alkham Road, Temple Ewell, Dover, Kent, CT16 3E
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: abbey, alkham, book, chalk, christopher, domesday, dour, dover, ewell, filmer, historic, houses, john, kearsney, kent, lane, mill, minnis, paper, papermaking, park., phipps, radford, river, road, ruins, stream, temple, thomas, trees, waterfall, william, woodland
