Woodbridge Tide Mill on the Deben, Suffolk UK

Harnessing the Power of the Rise and Fall Sea to Grind Flour

May 4, 2009

Unlike the more common windmill, a Tide Mill uses the rise and fall of sea level for power. The power source is more reliable than wind, though hours are not fixed.

Woodbridge Tide Mill has a venerable history - the earliest records of it are in 1170, when it was owned by the local Augustinian Priory, which exacted a tithe of the corn ground in the mill. The mill works by collecting the water in the rising tide in a mill pond via sluice gates. When the tide goes down to the low water mark, the water collected in the mill pond is released back to the Deben via the undershot water wheel on the side of the mill, which powers the millstones via the transmission which can be seen within the building. By releasing the water to drive the water wheel at the bottom, the energy is the small height difference between high and low tide can be used more efficiently than in the usual design of water wheel where the water comes in at the top of the wheel (overhsot).

By 1968 the mill had become almost derelict, and has been restored to house what is now the Woodbridge Tide Mill Museum. The intricate mechanism is on display - the water wheel drives the mill stones at the surprisingly high rate of 135 times per minute. The water wheel itself would rotate about 6 times per minute, generating approximately 36 horsepower at maximum capacity.

This gearing up is achieved through a system of gear wheels with wooden teeth working against gear wheels with iron teeth - the wooden teeth bed down to match the iron teeth, reducing the noise of the running gear. Uniquely for a British tide mill, the gap between the millstones could be adjusted to match the loading on the water wheel to keep the rotational speed of the millstones in the optimum range of 120-150 rpm.

In 1957 the 22-inch oak main drive shaft broke and the mill was no longer functional. The original millpond was sold off and is now Woodbridge Marina. There was increasing interest in preserving industrial architecture of the mill and in 1968 it was purchased and restoration work began. An small mill pond was created to drive the mill and restored Tide Mill turned under its own power once again in July 1982.

There is a charge for admission to Woodbridge Tide Mill, and opening times vary, typically daily from May to September, and some weekends outside this time. It is worth contacting Woodbridge Tourist Information centre on 01394 382240 for more details. The times when the mill is set running vary because they have to be at low tide.

GPS Location of Woodbridge Tide Mill

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