The Mills
There was at least one water mill at Draycot in 1086, and three mills by 1344. One was on the west of the road to Stanton, and one was between Draycot House and Sutton. The last mill (the one on the Stanton Road) can be seen on the 1808 and 1839/1840 maps but was demolished in the mid 1800s. Please note that neither of these locations is publicly accessible as they are on private land, and there is no access via public footpaths to where the Mills were located.
The largest mill in the local area used to be the one at Avon Weir; it was on the fast-flowing river, compared to smaller ones on the brooks and tributaries, and would undoubtedly have been more efficient and cheaper. An old map shows that people from as far away as Kington Langley used to go to the Avon Mill. However, Manorial laws probably meant that people in Sutton Benger and Draycot Cerne had to use the small mills in Draycot, and would have been fined by the Lord of the Manor if they had used Avon.
Avon Weir is accessible via the public bridleway, off Sutton Lane next to Langley Burrell Farm.
Draycot Mill
The 1840 map showing Draycot Mill on the west of the Stanton Road also shows the location of the original village of Lower Draycot on the south side of the lake in Draycot Park. The houses, including the old rectory for St James' Church, were cleared in the late 1800s to create a more open parkland, and the villagers were moved to new houses in Draycot Cerne.
The 1885 map shows that the Mill had disappeared, and so had Lower Draycot. This image shows the new parkland, the new rectory on the south side of the main road, and the new Mortuary Chapel.
Avon Mill
The 1840 map show Avon Mill on the eastern (Christian Malford) side of what is now the weir. The image also shows the 'crossroads' on Sutton Lane, where the bridleway goes west to today's Sutton Lane Meadows, and east to the weir and Christian Malford.
Not shown on this image, just to the east, the map shows the proposed line of the Great Western Railway, which was built a few years later.
The 1885 map shows Avon Mill still in operation, with a house to the east of the Mill, and south of the bridleway.
The mill was demolished sometime in the early 1900s, and the weir was rebuilt in about 1935.
The attached notes were provided by the Environment Agency in 2023.