Medieval Akeld : Mill

A mill in Akeld Township is mentioned in the charter preserved in the Kirkham cartulary recording the endowment of the chapel noted above.

The location of this mill cannot be determined on the basis of the evidence contained within the charter itself, although the reference to 'the path leading to the mill' is tantalising.

A corn mill is marked on the Bell estate map of 1822 (NRO ZAN Bell 51-1). This lies upstream of the dam and sluice shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey and clearly predates these features.  It might represent the same site as the medieval mill, but this cannot as yet be confirmed.

Moreover a letter written by Samuel Kettilby in 1734 implies there was no mill on his Akeld estate at that date, suggesting the 1822 corn mill was a mid-late 18th century foundation.