As early as the 12th century a mill functioned in Chenies as a ‘fulling mill’ for the cleaning of cloth. Over time the Chess Valley began a tradition of paper making with Dodds mill manufacturing paper until John Dickinson’s invention of the paper making machine led to the gradual decline of paper making by hand, and by the middle of the 19th century had ceased in Chenies. From that time Dodd’s mill became a traditional corn-grinding mill, playing an important role in the life of the village and continued as such until 1933.
Dodd’s Mill took its name from the Dodd family who took a 99 year lease on the mill from the Duke of Bedford between 1711 and 1736. Before this it is mentioned just as “the Mills”, and was rented in 1665 by the widow Farrow for £25.4.0d per annum. The Dodd’s continued making paper there until 1851, when the then George Dodd died. The last paper made at the mill was pink blotting paper, for which red tags were required (Chess water was apparently particularly suitable for making blotting paper). His widow Sarah continued the mill as a flour mill, and at her death the lease passed to her nephew John Boughton, a farm tenant at Chenies Manor. Flour milling ceased in 1915, but the mill continued to grind animal foodstuffs until 1933.
The development of the mill considerably changed the nature of the river upstream. The normal course of the Chess is meandering but above mill the river was diverted and straightened to form a straight mill water race to provide and reliable flow of water over the water wheels. The effect of this, and the reinforcement of the banks, meant that the surrounding land is considerably lower than the river. It may be possible to see the wooden reinforcements to the banks above the sills and trace the original course of the Chess.
The plan below (taken from ‘Particulars and Inventory for indenture of lease – made at the close of the Dodd’s original 99 year lease, dated about 1911) shows the various parts of the working Dodd’s mill in the paper making era.
A. A substantial newly erected building, the lower part brick walls, upper part timber and covered with slates. Containing in the basement a cellar for coals – on the ground floor a picking room, and a small accounting house with boarded floors. The picking room fitted up with benches on three sides, over these a drying loft completely fitted up, with four rooms of roped Trebles, of seven in each room.
B. A substantial newly erected building (as that above) containing on the ground floor, a finishing room with boarded floor, fitted up with a double dry press complete and a finish bench twelve feet long, over this another drying loft fitted with three rooms of Trebles of seven each room roped complete.
C. A substantial newly erected building (as last above), containing on the ground floor a large stone-paved working room fitted up with two pack presses complete with capstan for working the levers on the water wheel, and levers and blocks – also at the northernmost and two large Receiving Chests, and under these the Rectory water engine and machinery for working the capstan, over the whole of these another drying loft with five rooms of seven trebles in each roped complete.
D. A parting room with boarded floor, fitted with four trebles and Benches.
E. A sizeing room fitted up with s Copper Boiler and a sizeing press, complete.
F. A vat house open to the working room with vat and Hog in ditto, a server to supply the vat – a vat press complete – lead pipes from the Receiving Chests and the vats and machinery fr turning the hogs.
G. Another vat house in all respects complete as the last above described.
H. A house for depositing half prepared stuff with a wood Binn in ditto – All these last above described are substantial newly erected with Brick, and covered by Slates.
I. Open felt washing shed fitted up with cast iron Pot set in Brick work and iron door and frame.
K. Bleaching house fitted with double furnace and cast iron Troughs – four Retorts
with pipes and Bleaching Chests – all of these described buildings are newly erected made of brick and covered with paper and tar.
L. A substantial newly erected part of the paper mill containing a new water wheel ten feet diameter and sixteen feet wide with Spur wheel on one end of the shaft, a tumbling shaft and the capstan. On the other end of the shaft a cog wheel on the rim working into a Bevel cast iron wallover on an upright shaft in front of water wheel is placed another small one to work the double pump to the Paper Engines and the Rectory water engine. On the first floor a double faced cog wheel on the Main upright shaft working three cast iron Bevil Spur nuts and thereby three complete paper engines.
M. The corn mill with water wheel and pit wheel working an upright shaft and by spur wheel and wallowers working two pair of four feet French stones nine inches thick on top. Upright shaft a wood fence wheel working the Sack Tackle, bolting mills with their Ropes Straps and great complete, A meal trough, partitions to farm bins in this loft and as set of scales ands weights.
N. The Dwellinghouse brick covered with tiles containing on the ground floor two parlors, a Kitchen and pantry with cellar under it and Bedrooms over the whole.
O. A wash house and a water closet brick and tile.
P. A wood house, poultry house timber boarded and covered with tiles
Q. A Raghouse brick and shed covered with tiles intended and agree by the said George Dodd.
R. An old building Timber and Thatch, formerly a drying house, now workshops.