King's Mill, Castle Donington
Encyclopedia
King's Mill is the traditional crossing point of the River Trent
between Castle Donington
in Leicestershire
and Weston-on-Trent
in Derbyshire
. The Mill was the farthest point that traffic from the River Humber could progress. A lock
was installed here to make the river navigable but the business eventually collapsed due to competition with the Trent and Mersey Canal
. The mill was used for grinding flints for the pottery industry, locally mined plaster, and dyestuffs when it was owned by Samuel Lloyd of the Birmingham banking company.
which contained stones quarried at King's Mill. The stone is presumed to have been destined for strengthening a causeway across the River Trent
. This boat
is now preserved in Derby Museum
.
Control of this river crossing is first mentioned in a charter agreed by Æþelræd Unræd
(King Ethelred the Unready) in 1009 which recognised the position and boundaries of Weston. The charter shows that Weston controlled the crossings of the Trent at, Weston Cliff, Kings Mill and Wilne
. These crossings controlled one of the main routes for travellers moving up or down England and was a boundary within Mercia
. This land was then given to Morkar, the King's chief minister, and he was unusually given rights that were normally reserved for the King alone. He was given the responsibility for justice and exemption from the trinoda
, he alone could decide a fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff.
In February 1309 a dispute was settled between Henry de Lacy of Castle Donington
and the Abbey of Chester over the fishing rights here. Unusually the dispute was settled not with either side having rights up to the middle of the river, but with the manor of Castle Donington owning their land and the river up to the northern bank. The boundary of Derbyshire and Leicestershire still take this line.
was able to obtain an Act of Parliament to make the River Trent navigable to Burton. He set on George Hayne
of Wirksworth
to manage this, who in turn entered into a partnership with Leonard Fosbrooke of Shardlow Hall. Paget was given a monopoly on the river traffic although he had to construct two locks, one at Burton and the other at King's Mill to bypass the weir. The initial construction was a flash lock
but this was unpopular as it required considerable energy to move boats up stream and meanwhile the mill would see a sudden flow of additional water. The locks were converted to the more conventional pound lock.
Various people tried to break the monopoly but the lock remained a weapon against delinquents. At one time a lock gate was removed and another, the lock was loaded with rocks. Each time boats were stranded and cargoes delayed. For nine years the lessees had a stone laden barge sunk in the navigation at King's Mills. The sole purpose of this device was to create the need for goods to be taken from one boat upstream to another below and viceversa. By this method they were able to ensure that the rate of three pence per ton was paid.
It was not until threatening letters were sent in 1756 by the Earl of Leicester
that safe passage was assured and the lock was said to be the "best lock ever seen".
A new partnership was formed in 1763 to found the Burton Boat Company a minor shareholder was Samuel Lloyd's father who had a fifth share. One of the holdings was the mill itself which could have been a route for travellers wishing to avoid the toll.
The Trent continued to be used to transport goods including from Burton upon Trent which could be transported east and on to the Baltic states. However the river could not compete with the Trent and Mersey Canal and the business closed in 1805.
In 1805 the business was abandoned but the Quaker Samuel Lloyd, whose father had been one of the purchasers, was able to obtain the lease on the mill. As a banker he was able to run this business largely from his offices in Birmingham
. The mill was used to grind plaster, flints, and dye stuffs. It is said that the papers of the bank make few references to Kings Mills except that in one note it is recorded that Cousin Samuel has gone to visit his Flint mills.
In 1817, Kings Mill is listed as one of the few fords
across the Trent, the others being at Barrow-upon-Trent, Newton Solney
, Winchill, Willington
and Ingleby
. Although it is noted that only the locals would use these as they were considered too dangerous. At the time there were safer chain ferry crossings. The nearest was at Weston Cliff.
Until the middle of the twentieth century there was a chain ferry across the Trent at this point. The posts can still be seen (in 2008).
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
between Castle Donington
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
and Weston-on-Trent
Weston-on-Trent
Weston-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire. It is to the north of the River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal. Nearby places include Aston-on-Trent, Barrow upon Trent, Castle Donington and Swarkestone....
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. The Mill was the farthest point that traffic from the River Humber could progress. A lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
was installed here to make the river navigable but the business eventually collapsed due to competition with the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
. The mill was used for grinding flints for the pottery industry, locally mined plaster, and dyestuffs when it was owned by Samuel Lloyd of the Birmingham banking company.
History
Activity in this area is known to date from 3,500 bce as a log loat was discovered in nearby ShardlowShardlow
Shardlow is a village in Derbyshire, England about 8 km southeast of Derby and 12 km southwest of Nottingham. It is part of the civil parish of Shardlow and Great Wilne, and the district of South Derbyshire. It is also very close to the border with Leicestershire which follows the River Trent, ...
which contained stones quarried at King's Mill. The stone is presumed to have been destined for strengthening a causeway across the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
. This boat
Hanson Log Boat
The Hanson Log Boat was a bronze age boat found in a gravel pit in Shardlow in Derbyshire. This log boat is now in Derby Museum and Art Gallery.-Description:...
is now preserved in Derby Museum
Derby Museum
Derby Museum may refer to:*Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Art gallery and museum in Derby, England*Kentucky Derby Museum*World Museum Liverpool...
.
Control of this river crossing is first mentioned in a charter agreed by Æþelræd Unræd
Ethelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
(King Ethelred the Unready) in 1009 which recognised the position and boundaries of Weston. The charter shows that Weston controlled the crossings of the Trent at, Weston Cliff, Kings Mill and Wilne
Great Wilne
Great Wilne is a small village in Derbyshire, England on the border with Leicestershire. It is 7 miles south east of Derby. It is a village split from its church of St Chads by the river...
. These crossings controlled one of the main routes for travellers moving up or down England and was a boundary within Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. This land was then given to Morkar, the King's chief minister, and he was unusually given rights that were normally reserved for the King alone. He was given the responsibility for justice and exemption from the trinoda
Trinoda necessitas
Trinoda necessitas is a Latin term used to refer to a "threefold tax" in Anglo-Saxon times. Subjects of an Anglo-Saxon king were required to yield three services: bridge-bote , burgh-bote , and fyrd-bote...
, he alone could decide a fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff.
In February 1309 a dispute was settled between Henry de Lacy of Castle Donington
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
and the Abbey of Chester over the fishing rights here. Unusually the dispute was settled not with either side having rights up to the middle of the river, but with the manor of Castle Donington owning their land and the river up to the northern bank. The boundary of Derbyshire and Leicestershire still take this line.
Navigation and locks
In 1699 and 1710 Lord PagetWilliam Paget, 6th Baron Paget
William Paget, 6th Baron Paget was an English peer and Ambassador.Paget was English ambassador to Vienna between 1689 and 1692 and Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople between 1692 and 1702, during which time he was central to the negotiation of the Treaty of Carlowitz between the...
was able to obtain an Act of Parliament to make the River Trent navigable to Burton. He set on George Hayne
George Hayne
George Hayne was a merchant and entrepreneur who was responsible for the creation of the Trent Navigation in England and hence the development of Burton upon Trent as the pre-eminent beer brewing and exporting town....
of Wirksworth
Wirksworth
Wirksworth is a small market town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of over 9,000.The population of the Wirksworth area including Cromford, Bolehill and Middleton-by-Wirksworth is about 12,000. Wirksworth is listed in the Domesday Book in 1086. Within it is the source of the River...
to manage this, who in turn entered into a partnership with Leonard Fosbrooke of Shardlow Hall. Paget was given a monopoly on the river traffic although he had to construct two locks, one at Burton and the other at King's Mill to bypass the weir. The initial construction was a flash lock
Flash lock
Early locks were designed with a single gate, known as a flash lock or staunch lock. The earliest European references to what were clearly flash locks were in Roman times....
but this was unpopular as it required considerable energy to move boats up stream and meanwhile the mill would see a sudden flow of additional water. The locks were converted to the more conventional pound lock.
Various people tried to break the monopoly but the lock remained a weapon against delinquents. At one time a lock gate was removed and another, the lock was loaded with rocks. Each time boats were stranded and cargoes delayed. For nine years the lessees had a stone laden barge sunk in the navigation at King's Mills. The sole purpose of this device was to create the need for goods to be taken from one boat upstream to another below and viceversa. By this method they were able to ensure that the rate of three pence per ton was paid.
It was not until threatening letters were sent in 1756 by the Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England , and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837.-Early creations:...
that safe passage was assured and the lock was said to be the "best lock ever seen".
A new partnership was formed in 1763 to found the Burton Boat Company a minor shareholder was Samuel Lloyd's father who had a fifth share. One of the holdings was the mill itself which could have been a route for travellers wishing to avoid the toll.
The Trent continued to be used to transport goods including from Burton upon Trent which could be transported east and on to the Baltic states. However the river could not compete with the Trent and Mersey Canal and the business closed in 1805.
The mill and Lloyd's bankers
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. The mill was used to grind plaster, flints, and dye stuffs. It is said that the papers of the bank make few references to Kings Mills except that in one note it is recorded that Cousin Samuel has gone to visit his Flint mills.
In 1817, Kings Mill is listed as one of the few fords
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
across the Trent, the others being at Barrow-upon-Trent, Newton Solney
Newton Solney
Newton Solney is a small village in South Derbyshire, England, located about two miles from the East Staffordshire border, near to Burton upon Trent...
, Winchill, Willington
Willington, Derbyshire
Willington is a village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 2,604.-Geography:Willington is on the River Trent about southwest of Derby...
and Ingleby
Ingleby, Derbyshire
Ingleby is a hamlet and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. Situated on the south of the River Trent on a rise between Stanton by Bridge and Repton, Ingleby contains the privately owned John Thompson public house and the Ingleby Art Gallery....
. Although it is noted that only the locals would use these as they were considered too dangerous. At the time there were safer chain ferry crossings. The nearest was at Weston Cliff.
Until the middle of the twentieth century there was a chain ferry across the Trent at this point. The posts can still be seen (in 2008).