Bourne Mill

Bourne Mill is a Grade I listed piece of late Elizabethan playfulness a mile south of the centre of Colchester, built in 1591 by Sir Thomas Lucas as a fishing and banqueting lodge from leftover stone of St John's Abbey, whose decorative carving still shows in the walls. Around 1640 the lodge was fitted out as a fulling mill run by Flemish refugees making Colchester's Bay and Say cloth, and in about 1840 it became a corn mill that made flour into the 1930s. Inside are fulling stocks and a working 72-bucket waterwheel, and the grounds hold the millpond, stream, wetlands, a bug hotel and a stumpery. Dogs on leads are allowed in the grounds. Reviewers call it small, picturesque and surprisingly peaceful for its town setting, a good spot for a picnic by the duck-filled pond. The mill and grounds are currently closed for essential conservation work, so check the Trust's page before setting out. The Trust keeps the few on-site spaces for Blue Badge holders and directs other drivers to a nearby car park.