Rochester : Water Corn Mills
Two water corn mills may also be noted. The Birdhope Mill or Birdhope Craig Mill on the west bank of the Sills Burn immediately north of the point where Dere Street crosses the burn (NY 8291 9900) is recorded from 1705 onwards in the Elsdon Parish records (EPR; EP.83) and is cited by Hodgson as already operating in 1663 (1827, 84; but cf. Charlton & Day 1982, 169 n.9). It features in documentary sources - notably the Birdhope Craig chapel registers (NRO 1953), the 1748-79 land tax assessments (QRP 1748-79) and Armstrong's map of 1769 - throughout the 18th century and into the first two decades of the 19th century (Charlton & Day 1982, 164 App. 1). By 1804 it was said to be 'old'.
A corn-drying kiln may be noted beside it (Charlton & Day 1982, 169, App. 2.12). A second water mill, Stobbs Mill or Todlaw Mill (NY 8291 9750), was situated beside the Rede below Tod Law, a little way south of Rochester. It is first mentioned in the 1748 land tax assessment and features in several other sources in the second half of the 18th century (Charlton & Day 1982, 167 App. 1). Again a corn drying kiln may be noted close by (Charlton & Day 1982, 168, App. 2.11). A further possible example of such drying kilns has been identified by the geophysical surveys of the field west of High Rochester itself, close to the fort curtain wall (Crow 1993, 34).
The existence of two mills in the immediate vicinity bears witness to the level of cereal cultivation at Rochester and surrounding farmsteads. On the basis of the number of mills in operation Charlton and Day (1982, 149-150, 162) conclude that cereal production was at its height in Upper Redesdale from the mid-17th century to the mid-18th century rather than the early 19th century. Certainly neither of these mills is mentioned by the Border Survey of 1604 (1604 Survey, 110-111), but Birdhope Craig is cited by Hodgson (1827, 84; but cf. Charlton & Day 1982, 169 n.9) as already operating by 1663.
Arable cultivation was still being practised in the fields north of High Rochester in 1809 (Hodgson n.d.: 153; 1827: 90, cf. 82-83), but the Birdhope Mill was disused or ruined by the beginning of 1825 according to Hodgson (1827, 84) and is not marked or mentioned by either MacLauchlan or the 1st series OS map. Similarly Stobbs Mill (Todlaw Mill) was in ruins by the time Hodgson was writing part 2, volume I of his History of Northumberland (1827, 111), and is designated as the 'Old Mill' on a map of the Stobbs estate in 1826 (NRO 2534/1). The estate map also shows an associated mill race and the corn drying kiln. The mill buildings are still marked by the Ordnance Survey 1st series in 1866, but only the 'kiln' is described.
Information supplied by the North East Mills Group
Site Name: Todlaw Mill
- Grid Reference: NY829975
- First recorded 1781
- Last recorded
The ruins of this mill remain but little is known of its history. The Birdhopecraig Presbyterian Register of baptisms lists Dunn as being at Todlaw Mill in 1781 (Waddell 2003, 5-6). A Stob Mill also occurs in the register (1789) and this may also refer to the same mill or another, as yet unknown, mill.
Rochester mill on the south side of Todlaw, showing opening of well-preserved drying kiln
Site Name: Birdhope (or Birdhopecraig) Mill
- Grid Reference: NY829975
- First recorded 1704
- Last recorded 1820
The Elsdon Parish Registers and Birdhopecraig Presbyterian Register of baptisms gives some early information about this corn mill. The baptism records show Dunns, Bolam, Riddle & Dodds at the mill between 1732 and 1787 (Waddell 2003, 5-6). Rates and rental records show the mill in 1820 (Charlton 1996, 172). The mill is not shown on any of Armstrong, Fryer or Greenwood's county maps. Some traces of the races can still be seen (ibid.).
The Birdhopecraig Presbyterian Register of baptisms also lists a mill at Elishaw between 1740 and 1758. There is no other known evidence of a mill here and it may refer to the known site at Shittleheugh (NY865950). Further to confuse matters, a mill at Kellyburn (NY84 95 ) is also said to have existed in 1604 though its exact location is not known and it may actually refer to the same site as Elishaw, though probably not Shittleheugh.