.jpg "Water Mill House, Norwich")
Watermills were in use in Greece as early as the 3rd century BC, but it was the Romans who invented the mill as we know it today, incorporating a vertical wheel on a horizontal shaft.
According to the Domesday Book, there were more than 6,000 watermills in England by the late 11th century. By the 19th century this figure had grown to an estimated 20,000. However, their number began to dwindle after the Industrial Revolution and only around 500 survive today.
Many of these remaining watermills have been skillfully converted into highly desirable homes, their combination of history, rarity and charming architecture, not to mention their tranquil setting, ensuring that they are always very much in demand.
Here are six of the best examples currently on the market.
.jpg "Water Mill House, Tasburgh, Norwich")
.jpg "Hall, Water Mill House, Tasburgh, Norwich")
.jpg "Original mill machinery, Water Mill House, Tasburgh, Norwich")
.jpg "The Mill, Water Newton, Peterborough")
.jpg "Garden, The Mill, Water Newton, Peterborough")
(1).jpg "Kitchen, The Mill, Water Newton, Peterborough")
(1).jpg "Draycott Mill, Sudbury, Derbyshire")
.jpg "Garden, Draycott Mill, Sudbury, Derbyshire")
.jpg "Bedroom, Draycott Mill, Sudbury, Derbyshire")
(1).jpg "The Mill, Whitchurch-on-Thames, Oxfordshire")
.jpg "The Mill, Whitchurch-on-Thames, Oxfordshire")
.jpg "The Mill, Whitchurch-on-Thames, Oxfordshire")
.jpg "Gimbletts Mill, Launceston, Cornwall")
.jpg "Sitting room, Gimbletts Mill, Launceston, Cornwall")
.jpg "Dining room, Gimbletts Mill, Launceston, Cornwall")
.jpg "The Old Mill, Preston Crowmarsh, Wallingford, Oxfordshire")
.jpg "The Old Mill, Preston Crowmarsh, Wallingford, Oxfordshire")
.jpg "Kitchen, The Old Mill, Preston Crowmarsh, Wallingford, Oxfordshire")