Draft:Mill Drove

Pre-Roman

Four pieces of worked flint, dating from the late Neolithic to late Bronze Age, were found in 1994, with weathered rind typical of local till deposits.^[1]

Just north of the street was an Iron Age settlement site,^[2][3] including a multi-phase ditch, dug in the middle Iron Age, that defined the outer boundary of the later settlement.^[4] The variation in the clarity of the ditches might reflect recutting, implying more than one phase of activity.^[5]

Roman Settlement

The Iron Age settlement, following a possible break in occupation in the 2nd century, experienced a major realignment,^[6] becoming Romano-British site, likely a farmstead. As part of this, a rectilinear enclosure complex being laid out, likely for livestock, and possibly adding a small villa complex to the north of the enclosure.^[2][7] Hypocaust fragments, originating from an underfloor heating system, alongside limestone building rubble and tiles, were found on the site.^[8] Excavations of it defined a large and complex arrangement of enclosure ditches, as well as pits, gullies, and post-holes, some of which dated to the Iron Age. Finds on the site revealed pottery, tile, building stone, and a quern fragment.^[6] Over the course of the entire settlement, there were at least four enclosures.^[7] A late Iron Age or early Roman infant burial was also found.^[4]

No evidence suggested that the settlement continued after the Roman period,^[6] although mediaeval pottery was also recovered from the site,^[9] and mediaeval or post-mediaeval plough furrows were also found, with pottery and clay pipe fragments contained within them.^[10]

Victorian

The road took its name from a windmill (known as Wherry's Mill) that stood at its junction with North Road at its west end.^[11] Land to the north of the street (by then already known as Mill Drove), under copyhold of the Manor of Bourn Abbots, which was bounded to the east by Meadow Drove, and west by Car Dyke, was put up for auction in 1863.^[12]

The Bourne and Sleaford Railway opened in 1872, which had a level crossing at Mill Drove.^[13] Around that time, to facilitate the crossing, a railway gatehouse was built there, with white-washed walls and a tiled roof.^[13]

Following a Vestry meeting in 1873, the highway surveyors were instructed to "construct a hard road to be called Mill Drove". The occupiers of the few dwellings that existed there were invited to help cart stone and gravel.^[11] It had formerly been a farm track, surrounded by mostly agricultural land. There were small scale gravel quarries located close to the street.^[8] There was also a mustard farm on the road.^[14]

Modern

There was a proposal to build an isolation hospital on the road in 1908.^[15] In 1921, a small pottery bowl, supported by three legs, was found in the gravel pit to the west side of the railway.^[8]

During the second half of the 20th century, houses were built alongside Mill Drove,^[16] including one in 1951 by local farmer Len Pick.^[11] As a post-war development, an effort was made to incorporate green space on the street, including the planting of trees,^[17] and the street was laid out to be 20 feet wide, with footpaths.^[18] The railway was closed in 1965, with the gatehouse becoming a private dwelling, and shortly after 1998, it was substantially extended.^[13]

In June 1994, the windmill was demolished to make room for a new house, although the adjoining Victorian house survived.^[11] Further residential developments on the east end of the street also took place.^[9]

In 2025, sites on Mill Drove were earmarked for 441 and 326 homes, respectively.^[19] The latter was proposed by Taylor Wimpey, to be built alongside Car Dyke (which would be diverted into a culvert) with all assess to it from Mill Drove, which would be widened.^[20][21]