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Leighton Buzzard had a mill driven by water power from the River Ouzel from Saxon times for nearly 1,000 years until it was bought and closed down by Rank Hovis McDougall Ltd in 1964.The Mill stood at the bottom of Mill Lane on the edge of the water meadows, a site now occupied by Pledge Chairs.

The water to power the mill was diverted by the Saxons from the original course of the River Ouzel near Tiddenfoot Country Park via a mill leat, or mill race that now runs between Leighton Buzzard and Linslade. This leat forms the current main River Ouzel channel, the original bed of the river having been filled in to allow building. St Christopher’s garage, Tesco’s and Homebase stand on the meandering course of the old river.

For centuries the mill, which was unusually large and had two sets of the mill wheels even at Domesday in 1086, was central to the life of the town. Medieval law dictated that all the local farmers had to have their wheat and barley turned into flour at the mill owned by the Lord of the Manor.

The mill’s later history is dominated by the Flemons family who, in the 18th and 19th centuries, ran the mill and introduced an extra pair of mill stones. In the late 19th century new methods were introduced under the ownership of William Simmons. The business continued to expand until the mill was one of the major industries of the town.

Simmons Mill taken from the air just before it was closed down

The history of the mill is one of a series of talks being given at the Bedfordshire Local Hiatory Association conference being held at Linslade Middle School, Mentmore Road, Linslade on June 22. Other topics include, Q Central, Leighton’s Top Secret HQ for Britain in the Second World War; the story of Henry Finch, a publican, a prominent Victorian philanthropist who gave much money to Linslade; and the history of Leighton Buzzard’s Market Cross and the Alice Chaucer, the lady who built it.

In the afternoon the latest findings in the hunt for Linslade’s Holy Well will be revealed. The five year archaeological dig and search for historical evidence in the archives is being concluded this summer.

The event which last all day will have stalls from 10 different history societies from Bedfordshire and an exhibition of old photographs of Leighton Buzzard and a number of new and second hand local history books on sale. One of the stalls, run by Stuart Antrobus, will trace the history of land girls and lumber jills (who did the forestry) in Bedfordshire. He is offering to trace the ancestry of any conference attendees who believe they have a relative who was in the land army.

Tickets are £25, with a sumptuous lunch, or £20 without lunch but still with free coffee and tea all day.

A William Simmons steam lorry from the 1920s

The event is being organised by the Leighton Buzzard and District Archaeological and Historical Society and it is the first time the conference has been held in the town. Tickets can be obtained electronically using this link - lbdahs.sumupstore.com/ Any questions or alternative payment methods can be directed to [email protected].

One picture shows the Leighton Buzzard mill taken from the air with all its various buildings, before it was taken over and demolished in 1964. The other picture shows a Simmons steam lorry from the 1920s.

The Saxon Mill that changed the course of the River Ouzel