Can anyone tell us the difference between a Miller and a Millwright? Jan Groom and I are researching the history of a Welsh water mill, and we're trying to establish how old it might be, and who were the millers who lived and worked there. The current buildings are thought to date from the late 18th/early 19th century, although we have found evidence that there has been a mill there, or nearby, since at least 1308.
In the 1841 census we have Jonathan Williams, born about 1781, Breconshire and he is shown as being a Millwright. We know he was there in 1815 as he gives the Mill as his address for the baptism of his son. He died in 1851 and the 1861 census shows a William Moore there, and he is a Miller. We have also found other people shown as Millers or Millwrights in the village at various times who have not lived at the mill itself - although there were two other mills fairly close by.
So, would anyone like to explain to us the difference between a Miller and a Millwright - and would a Millwright live at a mill and run it, or would he be likely to employ a Miller as well? Also, later on it seemed that millers sometimes advertised themselves as 'miller & engine driver' so we'd be interested to know what kind of engine that would be, and how the two are connected.
We'd be interested to hear from people who know more than we do about milling!