Bourne Mill, Colchester
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| Bourne Mill | |
|---|---|
 Bourne Mill and Bourne Pond | |
| Type | Watermill |
| Location | Colchester |
| Coordinates | 51°52′38″N 0°54′45″E / 51.877105°N 0.91240235°E |
| OS grid reference | TM 00565 23846 |
| Area | Essex |
| Built | 1591 |
| Rebuilt | 1640 |
| Owner | National Trust |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Bourne Mill |
| Designated | 24 February 1950 |
| Reference no. | 1123673 |
  Location of Bourne Mill in Essex | |
Bourne Mill is a Grade I listed former fishing lodge and then in turn a fulling mill and cornmill in the city of Colchester in Essex and is owned by the National Trust.
St John's Abbey was founded as a priory in 1096 and granted abbey status in 1104.[1] By 1311 Bourne Mill belonged to St John's Abbey, and may have been the Abbey's mill from the time of its foundation.[2] Its name is first recorded in c. 1240 and derives from the small stream, or bourne, south of Colchester which drove the mill.[2] It was a corn mill throughout the Middle Ages, and was possibly rebuilt in c. 1326.[2] Its pond was the Abbey's fishpond.[2]
Sir Thomas Lucas's fishing lodge
At the dissolution of the Abbey in 1539, the mill and pond passed through a number of hands before being sold to John Lucas.[2][3] John Lucas built a mansion on the site of the Abbey (subsequently destroyed during the Civil War).[3] His son, Thomas, built a fishing lodge in 1591, incorporating elements of the former Abbey and his arms above the doorway.[2][3] The gable ends are in the Dutch style, and incorporate a chimney at each end. [2]