River Meden, Perlethorpe, Pt 2.

Old maps of Perlethorpe depict the location of a cotton mill just north of, but close by, Home Farm. Although most items you see here are from a later date, one can see clear evidence from this point and eastward across the field, how at least some portion of the River Meden was once diverted to bypass the site of Perlethorpe Village and run closer to the Kennels.

In 1862 this mill was described as having two grey millstones, two French buhr stones (said to produce a superior wheat product), and a Gorse Bruising Machine, the latter of which rendered a gorse bush into a palatable thorn-free food supplement for horses and cows when mixed with chopped hay or straw during those months when green forage might be thin on the ground. Dairymen were also of the opinion it made the milk richer and tastier.

 More about the River Meden on THIS LINK.