Site of Grange Mills, Bidford on Avon.

1 A mill at Bidford was leased to John Penn in 1535. In 1545 Penn occupied three mills called Grange Mills. Further references exist in the 16th century. In 1610 one is recorded as a fulling mill. Grange Mill was broken down in the Avon flood in 1588. There was a paper mill at Bidford Grange during the last century, but all the mills here have now disappeared.
2 There may well have been a mill here in 1086 as 4 were recorded in Bidford. Information on ownership exists for the 17th century and 18th century when the mill was used as a paper mill. Information also exists for ownership in the 19th century. On the OS 1886 1:10560 map it is shown as a corn mill only, and by 1900 it was described as being in ruins. The buildings were demolished many years ago and only the overgrown foundations remain. The mill house still stands, though it has not been occupied for many years. This house may be part of the paper mill which drew its water from what later became the approach channel to Grange Lock on the Upper Avon Navigation.
3 An extensive historical and archaeological survey of the remains of the two watermills at Bidford Grange was commissioned in l991 by Warwickshire County Council. This is illustrated and includes copies of original documents, plans and maps, the latest documentary evidence being a photograph postcard of l905. The survey team believe that there are Anglo-Saxon foundations beneath later remains. Some millstones survive on the site; some Medieval remains are obscured by soil, vegetation and subsequent rebuilding. Cut and dressed stone, obscured by mortar wash, can be seen on the north-facing elevation of the wheelpit.
4 A photographic survey of the watermill remains at Bidford Grange.