A History of Milling in Bentley
Over the course of history Bentley had as many as four mills, two water driven corn mills, a corn windmill and a mustard mill. These mills were the oldest indicator of industrial activity in the area. Nothing remains of these buildings now, but clues to their locations and who worked the mills can be found in various documents, maps and photos. In this article we take a look back at this early industry in Bentley.
Contents
- Corn Mills
- Bentley's First Mill
- Bentley Mill in Early Records
- Later Records
- Ownership
- Enclosure
- Robert Mason
- After the Masons
- Listed Building
- Bentley Windmill
- Victoria Mill (Marsh's Mill)
- The Marsh Family
Corn Mills
Up until the time of the Norman Conquest, most households would have ground their own corn. However, when the Normans imposed their feudal system they introduced a 'milling soke' (or 'suit of mill'), meaning that all grain grown on the lord's land must be ground in the lord's corn mill, it was forbidden to use a quern or hand mill. Consequently every manor owned its own water mill with a toll paid to the miller for its use.
By the early 14th century there were an estimated 10,000 watermills and windmills in England. A period of climate change led to a succession of poor harvests and agricultural decline set in. In response the number of working mills decreased. It would take around 200 years for numbers to recover.
By 1750 enforcement of suit of mill was becoming increasingly difficult in some areas of England, however, it remained strong in Yorkshire and was known as thirlage.
The Thirlage Act of 1799 allowed those bound by thirlage to make a one-off payment and effectively buy themselves out of the various legal requirements of the practice.
As Britain moved towards industrialization there was a huge increase in the population which led to a rise in agricultural production. This was at a time of decline in agricultural workers as many moved into industries such as iron, coal, textiles and engineering. The increased need for grain also came at a time of increasing competition from water-powered industries, as a result of this there was a sharp rise in the amount of windmills as wind power became more important.
In 1796 an 'Act for the Better Regulation of Mills' was passed following a series of bad harvests. Millers now had to display a list of charges and also charge for grinding grain and dressing flour. This would replace the toll which had been in place since the middle ages.
Unsurprisingly, these price increases hit the poor the hardest and this led to the introduction of subscription mills, which were run as co-operative ventures with money raised from voluntary subscriptions. this allowed flour to be produced at a set price.
In the late 19th century new technology saw mills move gradually from small scale local industry to large scale steam driven, factory production. Large roller driven mills were built at ports, navigable rivers and canals which were ideally placed to receive bulk loads of imported wheat. By 1887 the large roller mills were producing 65% of the country's total flour output.
The early 20th century saw the construction of several large mills such as Joseph Rank's in London, and Baxendale's Sun Mills in Manchester, which would later be acquired by the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS).
Traditional corn mills didn't stand a chance against the larger mills, despite installing imported machinery in an effort to increase production. Those with any hope of surviving were the ones located in good wheat growing areas, or with close access to a railway or canal. Most mills resorted to grinding animal feed before eventual closure.
Respite came in 1911 and again during World War I due to a 'pure bread campaign', and a demand for home-grown grain during a time of increasing attacks by German U-boats on shipping. With the outbreak of war the production and distribution of flour was taken under government control, which lasted until 1921. Following this there was a period of rivalry and competition, especially from the larger mills. In an effort to prevent over-production the industry was rationalized, and fixed quotas were introduced by the end of the decade.
By the 1930's there were only around 500 working mills in the country, of which small independent millers made up around half of the total. The large port mills were now producing three-quarters of the country's flour output.
Country mills were further devastated during the Second World War when many of their iron workings were stripped out for the war effort.
Mill closures after the war continued at an alarming rate, some estimated that one windmill a month closed during the 1940's. Water-powered mills were also in steep decline, while the rise in demand for mass produced white sliced bread in the 1950's and 60's did not improve things at all.
Whilst many mills did close, the growth in the health food industry of the 1970's and 80's provided a reprieve for some. Country corn mills were restored and brought back to working order and this enabled small-scale production of stone-ground flours etc.
Today many surviving windmills and water mills have been preserved as landmarks, living museums and even converted to family homes. Some are in the care of professional bodies such as English Heritage and the National Trust, with many of them open to the public. Care and preservation of these buildings ensures the milling industry is never forgotten and keeps our rural heritage alive.
Bentley's First Mill
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| Bentley 1850 |
Now we have looked at the history of corn mills in general, it is time to delve into the history of Bentley's mills. We start with the oldest of the four, Bentley Mill.
Bentley Mill was a traditional water driven mill. It used the power of flowing water to drive the machinery to grind the corn. The mill had a large water wheel which was turned by the force of the water from the mill stream. This in turn would drive the millstones which produced the flour.
The map above dates from 1850 and shows Bentley Mill just south of the centre and is marked as 'Bentley Water Mill (corn)'. To the west lies the centre of Bentley with High Street running diagonally from the bottom. Bentley Mill lies at the end of Mill Gate.
Also on this map is another mill, slightly above on Finkle Street. This 19th century mill, known as 'Marsh's Mill' or 'Victoria Mill', wasn't as old as Bentley Mill and will be discussed later on.
One of the earliest maps available is the 1827 Enclosure Map which also shows Bentley Mill. Interestingly it doesn't mention Victoria Mill, although a building is indicated in the right location.
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| 1827 Enclosure Map of Bentley |
Bentley Mill in Early Records
A mill at Bentley is first mentioned in a transfer deed of 1332, when Robert de Hathelsay transferred -
'Two messuages, one toft, one mill, nine and a half bovates of land, six acres of meadow and 11s. 5 1/2d. rent in Kirksandale and Bentlelay' to John le Botiller.'
As there is no record of a mill at Kirksandale (Kirk Sandall), it seems likely this must be the one at Millgate, Bentley.
The mill is mentioned again in a transfer of 1554, when Edmund Wyndam, Knight., transferred rights of the -
'Manors of Bentley and Arksey and 100 messuages* and a water-mill with lands there,'
to three other knights. In both cases the deeds do not specify what the mill was manufacturing, but it is safe to say that a mill existed in Bentley for around six hundred and fifty years.
* Messuage - A dwelling house with out-buildings.
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| Bentley Mill |
Later Records
Dating back to the middle ages there were as many as four water driven mills on the River Don at Bridge End. Bridge End, also known as Bridgefoot and Town End, was a small hamlet on the north side of the River Don, near St Mary's Bridge. It was included in the Manor of Bentley, meaning that this area was part of the parish of Arksey, and as such, the millers would have likely used Arksey church for all their baptisms, marriages and burials, with some using the nearer St George's church, especially later on.
There are over twenty different surnames linked to the occupation 'miller' in the early parish registers, some with multiple entries. Distinguishing between the Bridge End millers and those of Bentley Mill is pretty much impossible, so we can't be certain enough of the occupants of Bentley Mill to list them officially. Those we are more certain of will be referenced later.
Enclosure
A change to farming practices in the eighteenth century saw the introduction of 'Enclosure'. The old method of farming strips on common land was replaced with enclosed, closes of land. This change meant that many alterations were made to small roads and footpaths with some being discontinued completely.
During the first phase of Enclosure in 1759, the commissioner in charge was allowed to 'stop up, direct or alter any carriage-road, bridleway passing through the lands intended to be divided and allotted or passing through any of the enclosed lands.' He could alter and improve drains etc. but he could not alter anything that was likely to 'injure ... the watermill ... called Bentley Mill.'
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| Bentley Mill |
Ownership
Up until the early 1650's Bentley Mill was in the ownership of the Lord of the Manor, which at that time was Sir Arthur Ingram of Temple Newsome, Leeds. The miller in the 1650's was Thomas Lee, who has three entries in the Arksey parish register during that decade.
The Cooke family bought the Manor of Arksey with Bentley in 1654/55, however, according to the Hearth Tax records of 1672 the mill was under the tenancy of Edward Shirtcliffe rather than the Cooke's meaning it had likely been sold or leased. Records in the parish register show Edward Shirtcliffe had four children baptised at Arksey church between 1669 and 1674.
The mill does seem to have come back into the hands of the Cooke family later as they sold it in 1869 to Doncaster Council, who in turn rented it to John Lawrence for £140.00 per annum.
As an interesting aside, a burial record for the 8th of February 1735 shows that Joseph Shaw, carrier to Bentley Mill was 'slain in the mill by accident'.
Records of millers are hard to pin down for the late 17th and 18th centuries. It's not until the census records become available that we can be sure of who the millers were.
Starting in 1841, the mill at that time was being operated by William Walker. William was aged sixty two in 1841, his wife Ann had passed away in 1837 according to the burial records. Their son, also William, was twenty seven and daughter Ann was twenty four, and another son, James, seventeen. Also employed at the mill (as a miller) was James Cockin, aged twenty four. Finally, a servant named Mary Mason, aged twenty eight was also named on the census.
William Walker died in 1846 at the age of sixty eight and the mill passed to John Lawrence.
In 1851 John Lawrence was aged forty three. Originally from Pollington in East Yorkshire, he is described as a miller and farmer of thirty six acres, employing one man. His wife was Hannah, aged fifty three. They employed miller, Edwin Scholey, aged twenty and a farm hand, thirteen year old James Wilson.
John died in early 1881 and the mill passed to William Backhouse (born 1840) from South Elmsall. His wife was Elizabeth (born 1842). Living with them was a niece, Annie, aged thirteen in 1881. By 1887 William had moved to Sykehouse and a new miller had taken up residence at Bentley Mill.
Robert Mason
The Masons are the most remembered of all Bentley's millers. Long after the mill had gone out of use locals referred to the building as 'Mason's Mill'. Robert Mason and his family had a long history at the mill, but his story begins in Beverley, East Yorkshire.
Robert Mason was born in 1848 to William and Harriet Mason. William is mentioned as being a groom on the 1851 and 1861 census returns, but by 1871 he was a publican at the Red Lion Sun in the town. Robert had two younger siblings, William, born in 1852, and Annie, born in 1854. Robert's first occupation is listed as 'coachbuilder' in 1871.
In 1876 he married Annie Maria Payne (born 1855) in Northumberland. Around 1880 the Masons moved to Elwis's Buildings in the Marsh Gate area of Doncaster where Robert found work as a wagon builder. By the time of the 1881 census the couple had one daughter, Louie Lawrence Mason (born 1876), and a son Frank Payne Mason (born 1878).
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| Annie Maria Mason in later life |
Robert and his family moved to Bentley Mill around 1887 and the 1891 census shows that Robert was now occupied as a miller and farmer there. The family had grown too with the addition of three further sons, William (born 1884), James Cully Payne (born 1885), and Herbert (born 1890). Two more sons would follow, Ernest (born 1892), and Henry Alexander (born 1894).
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| Bentley Mill in 1890 with possibly Annie Mason standing in front. |
By 1901 the two elder children had moved on. Louie was working as a storekeeper in Peterborough. No record could be found for Frank in 1901, but it seems he later emigrated to Canada, married Lillian Ann Jennings and had two daughters. He died in Saskatchewan, Canada in 1960.
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| Frank Payne Mason |
Louie married William H Walley in 1915 in Birkenhead and went on to travel the world, visiting such places as Canada, Argentina, South Africa and India. She died in 1966 in Brisbane, Australia.
Of the other sons, only William was working in 1901, when he was listed as a butcher.
Moving on to the 1911 census, Robert was by now in his early sixties but still running the mill. His son William had also joined his father in the mill after his time as a butcher.
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| Robert Mason |
The other sons were now in their late teens and early twenties and all were still living at home apart from Ernest, who was attending a training college in Sunderland. However, he was listed at home on census night. Ernest's elder brother James was twenty five in 1911 and was listed as a schoolmaster. This was probably in Bentley but which school has not been determined as yet.
James married Alice Boot in 1921 and they settled in Furnival Road, Balby, where he continued in his role as a schoolmaster. James died in 1970.
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| James Cully Payne Mason |
Herbert Mason was aged twenty one in 1911. He was an electrical engineer at Rhodes Electrical Manufacturers Co. Ltd, Riverside Works, Doncaster. In 1921 Herbert was single and listed on the Bentley Mill census with his parents. His place of work was Sheffield, where he continued his occupation as an electrical engineer. No further information could be found for Herbert.
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| Herbert Mason |
Ernest joined the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry where he achieved the rank of Captain. Sadly he died from wounds received in France on the 6th of October 1917.
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| Captain Ernest Mason |
The youngest son, Henry Alexander (Alec) was seventeen in 1911, and like his brother Herbert, he was working as an electrical engineer at Rhodes. During the First World War Henry served in the RAF, after which he returned to Doncaster and married Doris Bunting in 1920. The 1921 census finds Henry and Doris living in Almholme, near Arksey, but Henry was helping his father Robert with general farm duties at the mill.
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| Henry Alexander (Alec) Mason |
Robert and Annie died within days of each other in January 1928, Robert on the 1st and Annie on the 4th. Their effects, including the mill were left to Henry.
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| Mason memorial in Arksey cemetery |
Henry and Doris took over the running of the mill, which was still operating by the time of the 1939 Register. Just when Henry gave up the mill is not clear but by 1948 the couple had moved to 86 Hunt Lane, Bentley. Doris died in 1959 and Henry died in 1965. As they had no children, their effects were left to Henry's elder brother James.
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| Henry Alexander Mason in later life |
After the Masons
The mill did continue after the departure of Henry Mason. William (Bill) Thornton carried on the milling business whilst living in one of the attached cottages, at that time it was owned by Prosper De Mulder. After that the Greasley family took over in 1948. Milling finally ceased at Bentley in about 1953.
Three sets of stones were driven from a central shaft which were firstly driven by the water wheel before a change to steam, then gas, and finally electric motor.
Farmers from the area brought their grain for cattle feed to be milled and a Dr Wilson from Intake used to bring his own wheat to be milled into flour for his home baked bread.
Listed Building
The early 1950's brought milling in Bentley to a close. The building, despite being Grade II listed, would lie empty and derelict for decades. It was finally demolished in the 1980's.
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| Derelict Bentley Mill in the early 1980's |
The demolition was probably an illegal act, unless consent was granted. On this no further information was found.
Details of the listing still exists on the website British Listed Buildings, and their description reads as follows:
'Water mill, C17, raised and altered in C19 and with C20 addition. Rubble magnesian limestone with ashlar and brick dressings, C20 pantile roof.
3 storeys, 2 bays; 1-storey, 1-bay C20 addition on right not of special interest. Large quoins to half height. Large chamfered, quoined doorway on left has deep two-piece lintel with cambered soffit; a bricked-up 3-light double-chamfered mullioned window on its right.
1st floor: two C19 windows with brick jambs and cambered brick arches; shaft mounting in wall between.
2nd floor: similar windows, that on right with arch missing. C19 kneelers with older gable copings, end stack on right. Rear: C17 doorway on right with chamfered, quoined surround and segmental-arched lintel; ashlar wheel-pit lining on left. Right return (within addition) has fragment of mullioned window to ground floor.
Interior: gutted by fire. C17 recesses flank the front mullioned window remnants of C17 fireplace to right end wall; C20 roof structure.'
*Photos of members of the Mason family were found on Ancestry. Attempts to find the original owner of the photos failed, however, if the owner objects to me including them in this article then I can be contacted via the contact form on this page and I will happily remove them if you wish.
Bentley Windmill
In the early 19th century the British became the world's first mustard millers - milling the heart of the mustard seed to a fine powder and establishing mustard as an industrial food ingredient.
Records show that Bentley once had a windmill for the production of corn and mustard. In 1796 a twelve month lease was granted to John Foster from Thomas Clark of Bentley for a 'Dwellinghouse in Bentley with buildings and other erections built by Thomas Clark for the manufacturing of mustard in the garth belonging to the same... also two closes ... adjoining called the Croft and Rushing Holme Close ... also a new erected stone and brick corn windmill in the close called 'The Croft,' with sails, sailyards, wheels cogs, spindles, machinery materials and other implements ... for the business of Cornmiller and Mustard Manufacturer.'
The location of the windmill was just off modern day Jossey Lane, to the side of the railway bridge. The original name of Jossey Lane was Brustlingholme Lane, which is thought to be derived from Rushing Holme Close, the parcel of land near to where the windmill was built. The mill pond, which still exists, became commonly known as Scawthorpe pond and then the Cementation (or Cemo) pond.
It possibly existed until early in the nineteenth century.
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| Site of windmill on map of 1890. The pond lies to the west of the railway line. |
Thomas Clark (born 1766) appears in Arksey parish registers. From those records we can see that he was married to Harriott Law (born 1776 and daughter of William Law, a gardener of Bentley). Three children were born between 1798 and 1803, the last child being born some four months after Thomas's death. Thomas's burial is listed for January 17th 1803. He was 37 years old and died of 'a cancer', which may have been the result of working with mustard.
Harriott went on to give birth to two illegitimate daughters in 1813 and 1815, but then disappears from the registers.
After a bit of a gap in records, the next mention of a mustard manufacturer appears in White's Directory of 1838. Thomas Horatio Bloomfield Mason (born 1811) would have been the last mustard manufacturer in Bentley as production had ceased by 1849. On the 1851 census Thomas lists his occupation as 'horse breaker', but still resided in the Brustlingholme Lane area. By 1861 he had married and moved away from Bentley.
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| Jossey Lane pond c1900 |
What became of the windmill and mustard factory is unclear, but all that remains today is the mill pond by the railway bridge on Jossey Lane.
Victoria Mill (Marsh's Mill)
Victoria Mill, commonly known as Marsh's Mill, was situated on Finkle Street, close to the centre of Bentley, as can be seen on this map of 1850.
Unlike Bentley Mill, this mill was steam driven. Pressure from the steam provided the force required to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. A connecting rod and crank was used to create the rotational force needed for grinding the corn.
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| Finkle Street and the Bentley steam mill, 1850 |
Just when the mill came into existence is not clear. Baine's Directory of Yorkshire for 1822 lists only the mill at Millgate. It isn't until 1849 that the Finkle Street mill gets a mention in a detailed publication by the Doncaster Gazette, which was called 'Village Sketches, or Hints to Pedestrians'. However, by examining other records, such as parish records and the census, we can come close to pinning down the date of this mill, to the early 1820's.
We know this because the first miller to take up residence in the Finkle Street premises was miller John Marsh.
The Marsh Family
John was born in Scarcliffe, Derbyshire around 1794, the son of William and Amelia Marsh, a poor agricultural family.
Just why or when John left the family home in Scarcliffe is not known. But the next reference we have for him is in the Arksey (and Bentley) parish registers, when he married Hannah Windle on the 22nd of May 1820.
The first reference to John's occupation as a miller is seen in the baptism record of their first son, also called John, which took place on the 17th of March 1822. A previous daughter, Mary Ann had died in infancy. There is no reference to the mill in Baine's Directory of 1822, so whether the Finkle Street mill did not exist then, or was just missed out of the directory, we don't know. What is probably true is that the Windle's had money, and if so, it looks likely that it was Hannah's dowry which enabled John to set up the mill in the first place.
The next reference to the mill comes in the 1841 census, where the Marsh family are positively identified in Finkle Street, with John listing his occupation as 'miller'. By now John and Hannah's family was complete; they had raised five of their seven children (two died in infancy) and were well established at the mill. Hannah's parents, John and Sarah Windle were also living there in their old age.
John and Hannah's children are listed below:
- Mary Ann 1820 - 1820
- John 1822 - 1899
- Eliza 1824 - 1886
- William 1826 - 1912
- Adin Samuel 1830 - 1905
- Jesse Windle 1832 - 1836
- Samuel 1836 - 1914
Tragedy struck the family in 1844 when Hannah died on the 4th of August. She was 48 and died of jaundice from gallstones and inflammation of the liver. She was laid to rest in Arksey churchyard.
Two years later on the 16th of February 1846 John remarried in Armthorpe. He married another Hannah, Hannah Addy (nee Cockin), who was the widow of George Addy, whom she had married in 1828 in Arksey; with him she had one son, William. Ten years younger than John, and still within childbearing years, Hannah gave birth to another son, Thomas Cockin Marsh in 1847.
In 1845 John's eldest son, John, married and left the mill, but stayed in the South Yorkshire area. Eldest daughter Eliza married in 1857 and just one month later, she and her new husband George Falkingham, arrived in New York, USA, where they settled in Towanda, Illinios, and raised three children.
Eliza's two younger brothers, William and Adin had already left England for the U.S., Adin first in 1851, followed by William in 1855. William Marsh's extraordinary story, which includes how he became friends with Abraham Lincoln, is told in a separate article and can be found in a link at the end of this article.
Tom Cockin Marsh
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| Tom Cockin Marsh in 1913 |
John died on the 16th of March 1880, leaving Tom to inherit the mill. His mother Hannah lived out her remaining years at the mill, dying in 1892.
Tom married twice, firstly to Sarah Ann Pigott in 1882. Their son, Thomas Pigott Marsh was born early in 1883, but the birth took the lives of both mother and son and they are buried together in Arksey churchyard.
Tom's second wife was Mary Barbara Baker, whom he married in 1884, in Bakewell, Derbyshire. They had two children, John Bertram, and Constance Baker. Mary died in 1907 at the age of 54. In 1911 Tom was aged 63 and still working the mill, now with his son John, while 16 year old Constance remained at the family home, which now employed a housekeeper.
John Bertram married Alice Nicholson in 1913 and they moved to Felixstowe in Suffolk. John worked as a commercial traveller according to the 1921 census and the couple had two children. John lived until 1969.
Back in Bentley, the mill was still operational in 1921 where the census of that year shows Tom, at the age of seventy four, still working the mill. Daughter Constance, twenty seven, was housekeeper, and Emily Trippett, forty eight, a servant.
Some time between 1921 and 1936 the mill ceased production, but the Marsh's continued to live at the mill house - number two, Finkle Street.
Tom Cockin Marsh died in 1936, aged eighty eight. Constance remained at number two Finkle Street until 1945. She passed away the following year whilst living at Green Lane, Scawthorpe.
Today, the mill buildings are all gone, only the brick built house remains.
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That concludes our look at milling in Bentley and it's sad to think that hardly anything remains on the ground today to remind us of this once vital industry. Bentley residents of today probably are not even aware that their village once boasted four mills in the locale. Hopefully this article will educate and keep alive the activities of the past whilst adding another facet to the rich history of the area.
Alison Vainlo 2025
