Most local farmers used the watermill at the seaward end of Mill Lane to process their grain. While a watermill has probably stood on the site since the Middle Ages, the present building dates from the early years of 19th Century. At this time it was advertised for lease as a newly erected watermill, the machinery was newly constructed with two pairs of grit stones and one pair of French stones, the flour cylinder, also a drying kiln.
The different types of grinding stones indicate that the mill was capable of producing oatmeal and wheat flour. By the 1880’s the waterwheel was being assisted by a steam engine for which a tall steam chimney had been erected in the adjacent field.
Richard Ayrton was miller and corn merchant at this time, remaining in charge well into his seventies. The mill continued to be run by members of the Ayrton family until it’s eventual closure in 1967. Today nothing remains of the mill itself.
Proud to be British the Alstons family have been in the furniture trade for 150 years and today the business continues to thrive under the same values and ethos.
Their values are still the same as they always were: excellent quality, British-made products and steadfastly impeccable service.
View our range of Alstons furniture.
Worries over Brexit are keeping many awake at night, according to new research from Sealy UK. The study, which questioned 1000 people from across the country, was commissioned following Brexit, and reveals that 21% have since experienced disturbed sleep as a result of worries over job security, fears over economic uncertainty (19%) and the threat of impending recession (14%).
Meanwhile, July’s above-average temperatures also wrecked havoc on sleep quality, with more than half of people (62%) struggling to sleep as a result of the recent heatwave.
In response, Sealy has launched the largest worldwide sleep study in history, to help it comprehensively understand the impact major events can play on our sleep quality, as well to benchmark how well we are sleeping as a nation in comparison to the rest of the world.
Run in conjunction with Loughborough University’s Clinical Sleep Research Unit, participants in Australia, South Africa, China and South Korea are already involved. Sealy is now calling for Brits to head online and have their say.
Neil Robinson, sales and marketing director at Sealy, says: “We’re very excited to be conducting the census in association with Loughborough University’s Clinical Sleep Research Unit and our partners across the globe. Sleep is clearly an issue for many following the stresses caused by Brexit, and as such, the study will provide invaluable insights into sleep which will inform both our product development and the work of the Clinical Sleep Research Unit.
“This forms an important part of Sealy’s ongoing commitment to research and innovation in the sleep arena and it’s fantastic to be the country driving the study forward. We hope people across the UK will take the time out to complete the study for us.”
Professor Kevin Morgan from the Clinical Sleep Research Unit at Loughborough University adds: “Our mission here at the CSRU is to improve the understanding of evidence-based management of insomnia and chronic sleep disturbance through applied research, knowledge transfer and professional training. The Sealy Sleep Census fits perfectly within this. We’re pleased to be involved with the study and we’re looking forward to seeing the results, and identifying trends across the globe. This is certainly a groundbreaking project.”
The study takes around 10 to 15 minutes to complete and can be found here.
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