Monument MPM1013 - Former King's Mill

Site of tidal mill, with mill pond. It's history has been traced from 1575, but it was probably medieval in origin. The mill was rebuilt in 1744/45 and burnt down in 1868.

A former tidal mill with a large mill pond, milldam and tidal flow from Portsmouth Harbour. The mill was situated within the south west corner of Portsea Island, in the area now occupied by Gunwharf Quays. It's history has been traced from 1575, although there is thought to be a reference to the mill in a document dated 1340. The mill was bought by the crown in 1714. It was incorporated in to the Post-Medieval Portsmouth town defences, being protected by the Mill Redoubt (see MPM24). There was a major rebuild in 1744/5, expansion in 1756 and a millers house added in 1779. It was totally destroyed by fire in 1868. There is a long history of tide mills in this area, supplying the Royal Navy, the dockyard and the Portsmouth garrison [1, 2]. The mill is referred to as both the King's Mill and Beeston's Mill, the latter of which is derived from Thomas Beeston who was the tenant in the late-16th century. [4, p172]

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Excavations on the site in 1995 revealed burnt red brick rubble and a feature measuring 4 metres across. It was thought the loose spread of the rubble could indicate modern levelling, rather than the old mill. [3]

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Trenches excavated across the site of King's Mill during an archaeological evaluation in 1997 concluded the remains of the mill had probably been destroyed as the result of demolition in the 1870s and the construction of a surface water sewer in the 1890s. A substantial deposit of brick rubble found in one of the trenches was thought to be all that remained of the mill in that location.

The east ends of the three sluices which served the mill survived to within 45cms of the present ground level (see MPM1685).

Sections of brick wall revealed during the same excavations may possibly have belonged to the foundations of the late-18th century King's Mill House (see MPM1682). [5]

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A series of walls relating to the Kings Mill/Kings Mill House were recorded during a watching brief at Gunwharf Quays in 2002.

Most of the walls had formed foundations to Kings Mill House. They were constructed from brick or stone or a combination of both, and reflected alterations and rebuilding over the course of the mills history. All of the walls had been levelled off to about 2.2m OD and covered by a deposit of clinker, ash, and coal. The clinker related to the construction of the Petty Officer's tennis courts during the 1920s. This had then been covered by a deposit of soil and most recently modern rubble and made ground to form a roadway for the construction of Gunwharf Quays.

Two brick walls belonged to a cellar either constructed when the mill was rebuilt c1779 or added during a later rebuilding/alteration. The cellar was 4.4m wide by at least 8m in length and had a brick floor and whitewashed walls. The surviving walls were 4.4m apart, 2 bricks wide and had rendering on the north-west face. Only a few courses of one of the walls survived. Brick rubble filled the space between the two walls.

Large patches of burnt material observed close to two walls were thought to be related to the corndrying kilns, possibly charcoal produced the last time they were fired. The deposit mainly consisted of charcoal formed from small lumps of timber, twigs and branches. It was not thought to relate to the fire of 1868 which destroyed the mill. [6]

Portsmouth City Council, n/a, Portsmouth City SMR Cards (Index). SPM1.

<1> Patterson, B.H., 1987, A Military Heritage A History of Portsmouth & Portsea Town Fortifications (Bibliographic reference). SPM43.

<2> Dr. Ashok Vaidya, Editor, 2013, The Mills and Millers of Hampshire, Vol. 1 - Central (Bibliographic reference). SPM314.

<3> Fox, Russ, 1995, H M Gunwharf Old Portsmouth Archaeological Excavation/Assessment 1995 (Unpublished document). SPM65.

<4> Page, William FSA, Editor, 1973, Victoria County History: Hampshire & IOW (Bibliographic reference). SPM3.

<5> The Conservation Practice, 1997, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, An Archaeological Evaluation. Part Two: Site Investigation (Unpublished document). SPM326.

<6> Barge, Melanie, 2002, Canalside Blocks Gunwharf Portsmouth: Report on the Archaeological Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SPM519.