Bird’s Mill, (1848-90), Whittington Road, Stoke Ferry Bridge

This flour mill was owned and run by Jacob Mason Bird. It was on the site which became the home to The Crouch family’s grass dehydration concern .

Jacob Bird also established other mills in our area including at King’s Lynn, Northwold, Downham Market, and Narborough. The Downham mill is still in operation. It is near the railway station and now called Heygates Mill.

In the summer of 1848, aged 46, Jacob announced the opening of his Whittington Road steam-driven flour mill (see above). This was the same year that his son, Frederick was born. It was Frederick who would go on to start the Downham flour mill.

Historically, most English villages would have had their own flour mill. Farmers would bring their grain. The miller would take his ‘toll’ in the form of a percentage of the wheat delivered. But, in the 19^th Century, with the advent of new industrial techniques, this situation changed rapidly. Just as in farming, where mechanisation was in full flood with threshing machines, the process of milling was also undergoing a revolution. Mechanisation was in full flood with threshing machines. The process of milling was also undergoing a revolution. This began firstly with conveyors and labour-saving devices. Later, it was driven by steam power. All of these innovations enabled the continual grinding of corn. This process was dependent upon neither wind nor water power.

The construction of Bird’s mill typified this Victorian centralisation of flour production. Situated on the banks of the navigable River Wissey, Jacob had access to both grain and coal from King’s Lynn.

 A description of Stoke Ferry from 1865 says, “considerable business is done at the Wharf in corn, coals, malt, flour, &c.”  Jacob was also very much alive to the advantages of the new steam railways. In March 1865 he gave evidence to a House of Commons Committee considering the Downham, Stoke Ferry and Brandon Railway Bill. Under examination he said he was a miller at Whittington and Downham. ”I have Mills in both places, and they are both steam mills. I buy my corn in the district. The corn consumed at Whittington Mill averages 12 tonnes a week.I get it from Lynn by the Ouse and the Wissey. In a flood it will come to Stoke Bridge, and the other times it only comes to Hilgay. I buy almost 300 quarters of corn a week¹ for the Whittington Mill. I generally buy the better class of white wheat at Ely. It then goes to Downham and I have to cart it 7 miles. The railway would undoubtedly be of great benefit to us, and the feeling of the district is in favour of it … I believe the [new] line would save me £500 a year … Sometimes my mill stops because I cannot get corn in consequence of the deficiency of water in the river.” Presumably the “feeling in the district” refers to the feelings of the other local landowners. It also refers to the traders who also spoke in favour of the Bill. These included Sir Henry Bedingfeld of Oxburgh Estate. Mr. Whitbread of the Whittington maltings spoke as well. Other supporters included Mr. Mason, the Wereham solicitor acting for the proposed line. Finally, Mr. Flatt, representing the Duchy of Lancaster with estates of 6,000 acres in Methwold, also spoke in favor. (Lynn Advertiser, 25 March1865)

1887: Agnes Bird, died at Stoke Ferry in the home of her brother, Arthur.

The mindset of Jacob Bird in three court cases

May 1865: There was a sensation in Downham. The town was in feverish excitement when Jacob’s wife, Mary Bird threw open her bedroom window and shouted for help lest “murder would be done”. In the commotion Jacob left by the back door and ran down Bridge Road, Downham and he quickly took the train to Lynn. A warrant was for his arrest was executed. Jacob was taken to Downham. At the next day’s Petty Sessions he was charged with using threatening language towards his wife. Much to the disappointment of the local population, the case was held in private before just one magistrate. Jacob Bird was bound over for £300 with a further bond of £300 to keep the peace towards his wife.³⁽⁴⁾. After the decision was announced a large restless crowd gathered outside the court house. Jacob’s lawyer, along with a friend tricked the crowd by rushing out of the court to a waiting carriage. At the same time, a policeman hoisted Jacob over a wall. He made his escape over the surrounding fields. (Norwich Mercury, 20 May 1865)

1874: At Ely Petty Sessions, Jacob Bird was fined 2s. 6d. and 14s.6d costs for using unjust weighing machines. (Peterborough Advertiser, 25 April 1874)

1887: Jacob was accused of using “some injurious expressions” regarding Thomas Wenn. of Downham. Jacob was angry after making a considerable loss in one of their ventures;“In a moment of irritation I made use of some expressions concerning the plaintiff, which I now sincerely regret…and which had not the slightest foundation.” Wenn accepted this apology and waived any damages. The judge said it was “a very proper ending. I have always said that it is the first duty of a man who knows he has unjustly slandered another to make atonement, as he would in any other case, by an acknowledgment that he had made a mistake.” (Lynn Advertiser, 31 March 1877)

Footnotes

1. A Quarter of Corn had different weights across the country. In Norfolk it was around 500lbs (226kilo) ↩︎
2. Stoke Ferry, the story of a Norfolk village, Doris E. Coates, Harpsden Press, 1980 ↩︎
3. £300 in 1865 is equivalent to the large sum of £39,000 today. This makes one assume that there was more than “threatening language” involved in Jacob’s assault upon his wife. ↩︎