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An extract from Cheshire Magazine:
"Until about a hundred and fifty years ago, almost every Wirral village - like almost every other in Britain
- had its own mill. It was a matter of necessity. In the days before the great wheat-growing areas of the
New World had been opened up, and the means to transport bulk grain or flour over long distances had
been developed, every community depended on locally grown and milled grain with which to make its
bread. As might be expected in an area that is markedly short of rivers and streams, most of Wirral's
mills were windmills. There were, indeed, a few water mills, including Raby and the tidal mill by
Bromborough, but they were very markedly outnumbered by windmills".
The mill at Raby was used for the same purpose as many around england, that being to grind grain
into flour by the use of large millstone driven by the power of the water. The mill was situated at
the edge of the mere and was by the Early of Shrewsbury. The mill was run by the Lawton family of
Neston for many years. The Lawtons were a large well known family already heavily involved with
farming and agriculture. The next miller was local man Richard Gee who died in 1857 only to be
replaced by another local Mr Joseph Williamson.
The use of the mill eventually became obsolete mainly due to the invention of steam followed by
electricity. The mill house was later converted into tea rooms by Joseph Williams who operated a
successful business from there especially with the onset of day trippers who would hire boats to
row across the mere.
"Until about a hundred and fifty years ago, almost every Wirral village - like almost every other in Britain
- had its own mill. It was a matter of necessity. In the days before the great wheat-growing areas of the
New World had been opened up, and the means to transport bulk grain or flour over long distances had
been developed, every community depended on locally grown and milled grain with which to make its
bread. As might be expected in an area that is markedly short of rivers and streams, most of Wirral's
mills were windmills. There were, indeed, a few water mills, including Raby and the tidal mill by
Bromborough, but they were very markedly outnumbered by windmills".
The mill at Raby was used for the same purpose as many around england, that being to grind grain
into flour by the use of large millstone driven by the power of the water. The mill was situated at
the edge of the mere and was by the Early of Shrewsbury. The mill was run by the Lawton family of
Neston for many years. The Lawtons were a large well known family already heavily involved with
farming and agriculture. The next miller was local man Richard Gee who died in 1857 only to be
replaced by another local Mr Joseph Williamson.
The use of the mill eventually became obsolete mainly due to the invention of steam followed by
electricity. The mill house was later converted into tea rooms by Joseph Williams who operated a
successful business from there especially with the onset of day trippers who would hire boats to
row across the mere.
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| The Mill House in 2008 |
| The Mill House in 2008 |
| This is a photograph that I found on the internet referring to Raby Mill. However there are no records of a windmill being near the site. I am unsure if this is a genuine Raby photograph. |
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