Story of a Grist Mill

These 'tickets' were found tucked in the recess above one of the curved timbers on the first floor.

This is a letter held by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). Dated 1st November 1962, it is from Richard Goodman to Mr P V Guy of Ampthill Preservation Society. 

The letter reads...

"Dear Sir, 

The Water Wheel here requires re-lining and several buckets replacing. 

After repeated attempts we can find no-one who will take this type of work on, and as this Mill is a building of Special Architectural or Historic interest I shall be glad to know if you know of any Millwrights. 

Yours faithfully, 

R. Goodman."

This letter, dated 9th January 1963, is a reply to Mr Goodman's plea for help repairing the waterwheel. Mrs Dance suggests getting in touch with Mr Edwin Hole of Messrs Hole & Son who are based in Burgess Hill, Sussex. However, Mrs Dance warns that they are very busy and may not be able to undertake the repairs before April.

This letter dates from 11th December 1987 and is from David Stuart, the District Planning Officer for Mid Bedfordshire District Council. He writes to Philip Venning to follow up an approach by the Goodmans for a possible grant for repair works to both the mill and the mill house. He is asking for useful background information about the worth of the mill and its machinery.

In this letter of 21st December 1987, SPAB offer to provide Mid-Bedfordshire District Council a free report on Flitwick Mill. The letter goes on to ask about Park Mill in Woburn "as we have heard nothing recently and are concerned about its future"

An article from Stephen Mitchell who vigorously opposed the conversion of the mill into a private house. Mr Mitchell says "I was most surprised when Central Bedfordshire Council invited the applicant to resubmit his plans to the new authority.

[The date is approximate]

This article  reports that "Mid Beds District Council rejected plans to turn the building into a private residence on the grounds that the alterations would not be in accordance with regulations governing appearance, preservation and historic use of a listed building."

The petition was organised by Friends of Flitwick Mill who propose to turn it into a heritage centre and to restore the mill to working order so that they can run demonstrations much like Bromham or Stotfold Mills do today.

This is another newspaper article reporting on the deferred plans to convert the mill. The decision is deferred for three months to see if funding can be raised to keep the mill in working order.

The article reports on both sides of the discussion, with one councillor saying "This suggestion by English Heritage to turn it back into a working mill is completely naive. It's not just the cost of restoration but the upkeep in the future."

Another councillor points out that it took 13 years and the best part of £1 million to restore Stotfold Mill.

A photograph from outside the front door of the mill. 

Thanks to Anne Slack for providing the photograph. 

We are also very grateful to David Sedgley for retuning the sack-barrow in this picture to the mill after he had bought it at auction!

This is the Goodman family in the garden of Flitwick Mill House. These people are the grandparents and great-grandparents of the current generation of Goodmans.

In the background, you can see the chimney still standing by the mill.

Thanks to Jon Goodman and his brother for this photograph

This is one of the earliest photographs of the south-west faces of the mill and mill house that we have seen. The subject is the two children in a canoe in the foreground. 

The chimney of the lean-to between the mill and greenhouse is sensibly much further away from the mill than it is today and the chimney for the steam-engine is still standing next to the mill. 

A noticeable absence is that of the Sequoia or Wellingtonia tree that was rather inappropriately planted near to the sluice gates at a later date.

Many thanks to Jon Goodman for sharing this photograph.