The Three Mills are former working mills and an island of the same name on the River Lea. It is one of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

’s oldest extant industrial centres. The mills lie in the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

, but despite lying on the Newham side of the Lea, access is principally from the western,

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

, side of the river. The River Lea Tidal Mill Trust Ltd owns the

House Mill The House Mill is a major Grade I listed building on the River Lea in Mill Meads, and part of the Three Mills complex. The original tidal mills at this site date back to the Domesday book of 1086, and the present structure of the ''House Mi ...

and the Miller's House buildings, which are used for educational projects and as conference spaces. The Lower Lea Project is also based at Three Mills in The Miller's House.

History

It is thought that there were eight or possibly nine mills on the River Lea in Stratford at the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

, though this number may refer to the number of pairs of millstones rather than buildings. These are the earliest recorded examples of a tidal mill system. In the clock mill there were 16 workers. Stratford Langthorne Abbey, founded in 1135, acquired Three Mills some time in the 12th or 13th centuries, and the local area became known by the name. By the time

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

dissolved the abbey in the 1530s, the mills were grinding flour for the bakers of Stratford-atte-Bow, who were celebrated for the quality of their bread and who supplied the huge

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

market. In 1588, one of the mills was described as a "gunpowder mill". During the 16th century the three mills were reduced to two (which today are the House Mill and the Clock Mill). In the 17th century, the mills were used to grind grain, which was then used to distill alcohol; the mills became a major supplier to the alcohol trade and gin palaces of London. The House Mill was built in 1776 (and after a fire destroyed it, quickly rebuilt) by Daniel Bisson. It is a grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. The Clock Mill was rebuilt by

Philip Metcalfe Philip Metcalfe, , (29 August 1733 – 26 August 1818), was an English Tory politician, a malt distiller and a philanthropist. The Metcalfe family were from Yorkshire of the Catholic faith and Royalists during the Civil war. Family and early ...

between 1815 and 1817 incorporating the old clock, and an older bell. There was also a windmill which survived until about 1840. The House Mill continued to operate until 1940 and the Clock Mill until 1952. Three Mills area House Mill

Ownership changed relatively frequently during the 17th to the late 19th centuries, until 1872 when it was purchased by gin distillers J&W Nicholson & Co of

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redis ...

. Initially producing Lamplighter Gin on site, the company eventually moved production of all of their brands to the site. Distilling ceased in 1941 during the rationing shortages of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The Nicholson family, headed by Sir Richard Nicholson, sold the business to the Distillers Company. House Mill 2009a

Three Mills sustained severe air-raid damage during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The Miller's House was destroyed in 1941 and rebuilt in 1995 with a modern interior and rear part, but retaining the original facade. Three Mills was used for bottling and warehousing by Bass Charrington and Hedges & Butler. The latter, one of the oldest wine merchants in Britain located their main working offices at Three Mills. Here, Bacardi was bottled and a large portfolio of wines and spirits was marketed. The House Mill remains the largest tidal mill in the world, although the water wheels are currently not in operation. The building is owned by The River Lea Tidal Mill Trust Ltd and is open to visitors on Sunday afternoons during the summer. It is one of only four Grade I listed buildings in the

. The creation of the

Three Mills Lock Three Mills Lock, also known as the Prescott Lock is a lock on the Prescott Channel on the River Lea in London. The project was led by British Waterways and the lock officially opened on 5 June 2009. The lock cuts off this section of the Bow ...

on the

Prescott Channel The Prescott Channel was built in 1930–35 as part of a flood relief scheme for the River Lee Navigation in the East End of London, England, and was named after Sir William Prescott, the then chairman of the Lee Conservancy Board.

and the

Three Mills Wall River Weir Three Mills Wall River Weir is a weir on the Bow Back Rivers, in Mill Meads in the London Borough of Newham, England, near to Three Mills. It was built in 2009, when the Bow Back Rivers were refurbished to make them a key feature of the Queen E ...

, for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

construction work, has created a head of water behind the mill. This may mean that it can be operated again although it has partially removed the tidal benefits of the site. The Clock Mill is the temporary site of

Harris Science Academy East London Harris Science Academy East London (HSAEL), formerly known as East London Science School (ELSS), is a coeducational secondary free school with specialist school status in science and language in Stratford, Bromley and Bow, in the London boroug ...

. In 2017, J&W Nicholson re-launched the gin brand which was launched in 1736 as Nicholson Gin.

Three Mills Island

Three Mills Island is in Bromley-by-Bow in east London. It forms part of the 50-mile Lea Valley Walk celebrated i
The TelegraphThe Guardian
an
The Newham Recorder.
The

, a former flood relief channel passes to the east, making the land an island. The mills share Three Mills Island with the

3 Mills Studios 3 Mills Studios is a centre for film, television and theatre production near Stratford in East London. The site of a former distillery in Three Mills became a dedicated centre for television and film production work with the establishment in the ...

, a 10-acre film and TV studio, which makes a large number of major films and television programmes and an open green and play area called Three Mills Green. The 26-acre area of land opposite the mills, shown in historical surveys as the Three Mills District, once housed a large cooperage producing barrels to support the mills, as well as a wide range of industries, from the manufacture of innovative inks to sugar refining. Calle
Sugar House Island
the development is being delivered b
Vastint
and will bring 2,500 jobs to the area, with a new business district as well as waterside homes and amenity.

Operation

In 1878 there were seven waterwheels at Three Mills. Most of them were around 20 ft in diameter and 3 ft in width, but one was 8 ft in width. There were four in the House Mill and three in the Clock Mill. They drove fourteen pairs of millstones and produced a total of 150 HP (112KW). The average output of the House Mill was about 2 tons of maize and 5 tons of barley per tide rising to 10 and 14 tons respectively on spring tides. The average weekly throughput of the two mills was 125 tons per week. Clock Mill was powered by three iron undershot water wheels, two of 6.1m diameter and one of 5.9m diameter. These wheels drove six pairs of millstones at 130 revolutions per minute. This mill operated until 1952. When the mills were both operating in 1938, the site employed one millwright and four carpenters. During the daily 7–8 hours of tidal power, the water wheels ran at 16 revolutions per minute with a working head of 3.0-3.7m. This produced some 7-9 kW to turn each millstone.

References

External links

*
3 Mills Studios – official websiteSugar House Island - official website

Engineering Timelines – Three Mills (1776, 1817)

Chain Reaction Theatre Company – Educational theatre champions based at Three Mills StudiosThe River Lea Tidal Mill Trust Ltd
also known as House Mill {{authority control History of the London Borough of Newham Watermills in London Geography of the London Borough of Newham Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Newham Tide mills River Lea Flour mills in the United Kingdom Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Newham Districts of the London Borough of Newham Areas of London Mill Meads West Ham