Westgate Street Ipswich

[windy_miller]

Hi Worlygigger,

Terribilly sad to her about Mrs. Greenard!  Had a few long chats with her about the mill and her late husband (the mill's last miller).

As far as Samuel Mayhew is concerned I have him done as a miller & miller's man..so he might have been exaggerating his status?!  Though an Arthur Mayhew reappears in  1891 census.

Your info mation is very useful.  As I can now pin down a few fellows; I have a John Farrow and Samuel Meen who I can now associate with Old Mill.

Preceding these chaps I have a Wm. Woodbridge, occupier of a mill (mill-houfe) in Worlingworth, trying to sell in 1776.  I'm not entirely certain this is a windmill, it could have been a horse mill?

I'll have to investigate further as I do not have any Meen's in Hasketon nor ant references to a mill having been moved out of Hasketon.  Intriguing!

Cheers,
Windy

[windy_miller]

Evenin' Worlygigger,

I've double checked by data, and I have references of a buck being moved to Worlingworth from 3 different villages.  She may have come from either Hasketon, Hoxne or Ufford.  The Meen's were a milling family with extensive connections so I'll see if this throws up any light on which mill is a likely candidate.

For Mayhew connection check parish records "baptism book"; 1823/08/24 when his daughter Miriam was baptised (miller's man).

I also have a John Churchyard, as a miller, 1813/05/02, when son William was baptised.  Have you heard of him?  I suppose he was also at Old Mill as there were no other mills in Worlingworth at the time!

Cheers,
Windy

[Worlygigger]

Hi Windy,

Could you provide me with the references for the movements of the 'new' Mill? Now that you have mentioned Hoxne, that seems to be more feasible than the other locations. Never heard Hoxne mentioned before and if I have some references, I can follow up by having a look in various parish books.

'Miller's man' does not mean that the person was 'in charge' like, for example, Henry Moulton, John Farrow or James Mason - effectively, the 'man' was the jobber or assistant but not resident in Mill Cottage.

Also bear in mind that millers from other adjacent parishes might have chosen Worlingworth Church for a baptism. John Churchyard may have been a miller at e.g. Horham or Bedfield. In the 1851 census John Churchyard's occupation is given as 'farm labourer'.

Cheers

Worlygigger

[janglaschu]

Thanks Windy_Miller for the info on Alfred Laws at Offton; it would have been his father, Alfred Laws, who was milling in 1858, as Alfred Arthur was born in 1850. I don't know of any Southgate connection, but it's always possible. Incidentally, Alfred Laws senior was born in Hoxne. He died very suddenly in 1864; interestingly a note in his will reads "it is further my Will and desire that my said Executrix and Executors shall sell or cause to be sold to the best advantage the Mill, Mill ground, Shop, Warehouse, Stables, outbuildings and appurtenances whatsoever thereunto belonging situate and being in Offton in the county of Suffolk and the monies arising from such sale or sales shall be equally divided between my Wife and the surviving children". The settlement of his will took quite a time - double probate was passed in 1873 - so maybe Henry Southgate was brought in to run things in the meantime.

[windy_miller]

Hi Whirlygigger,

The reference for mill movements are all a bit tenuous and tend to be based on word of mouth from long gone mouths!  The Hoxne connection seems to refer to a (steam) Mill at Honeypots Farm, Worlingworth, and was held by a George Rayner in Hoxne before the move.  The buck was used as a shell for a steam mill at Worlingworth, not a windmill and was gone by about 1911.

On the Ufford move my database say it was moved c1870 and had been owned in Ufford by either William Buttrum or George Fuller.  I know nothing more.

I recognise that millers may have liked other church over their "own" parish church, or preferred the fiery rhetoric of a preacher but fortunately the parish records I'm looking at the curate was required to recorded which parish the father of the baptised came from, and most usually this was just "Of this parish".  One has to assume that the truth was told especially in church!!!

As far as the Mayhew's he does seem to have been the miller's labourer (assistant) rather than the miller.

Cheers,
Windy

[windy_miller]

Hi janglaschu,

I hope that helped.
Thanks for the snippet on the Will...I'll add to my database (it was the Offton mill, wasn't it?).  Also, though may be in this case, mills were sold by private contract within the family from deceased father to son, as a way of raising money for the legacies and supporting the bereaved widowed mother; he son getting a mortgage.

Cheers,
Windy

[windy_miller]

Hi janglaschu,

Sorry should have read "though may be NOT in this case"!!!

Windy

[windy_miller]

Hi janglaschu,

Last questions I hope!

Do you know when Arthur Laws (the elder) statred milling at Offton, and what date he died.

For your interest I also have Laws milling in the following:-
William - Southwold
A? - Willisham

The un-named A. Laws is very interesting as Offton mill and Willisham are PRETTY close together.  A mill was moved from here c.1850 (around the time A. Laws was there), but it could also be a case of the problem Worlygigger was talking about (perhaps even the directories were a little inaccurate?).

Windy

[janglaschu]

Thanks WindyMiller. Alfred Laws was certainly in Offton in 1851, not sure when he started milling as the 1851 census has him as Grocer and Draper. He died about 11th January 1864 (he fell into the dock at Ipswich and drowned - there is a bit about the inquest in the Ipswich Journal of March 26 1864).