I hadn't come across a windmill in Dogsthorpe until I came across the press cuttings below. In fact the mill was in Millfield, and sited near to Windmill Street, but clearly in the 1840s and 50s it was called Dogsthorpe Mill, so that is good enough for me.
I proved to myself that this was the correct mill by finding J Adams from the second press cutting in the 1861 census at 17 Lincoln Road:
- John Adams, head, 49, Miller and Baker born Bucks Loughton.
- Harriet, wife, 42, born March Cambs
- Frederick, 10, born March Cambs.
- Emma Jane, 8, born Millfield.
- Robert Harry, 4, born Millfield.
- Charles Bonner, apprentice, 17, Miller and Bakers apprentice, born Dogsthorpe.
- John Lilly, servant, 26, Cart driver, born Moulton Lincolnshire.
- Emily Spriggs, servant, 16, House servant, born Deeping St James Lincolnshire.
Stamford Mercury 9 Dec 1864 Marriages
"At the Wesleyan Chapel, Peterborough on the 29th ult, Mr Jabez Harker, Grocer, of Nottingham, to Mary Ann, eldest daughter of Mr Adams of Dogsthorpe Mill."
www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/blog/ This is an image of the windmill at Millfield taken in 1900. By this time it is called Adam's Mill and the garage and motorcycle showroom which replaced it were also called Adams. I had never realised this name came from the mill owner. Information from Peterborough Images.
"The original photo was taken in the early 1900s but the mill dated back to 1831 and even before then there was an old “post mill” on the site that dated back much further.
John Adams took over in 1846 having formerly operated the mill at Fletton (Tower Mill) and it became known locally as “Adam’s Mill”. The mill stopped working around 1916 and was largely derelict by 1923. In 1937, it was sold to garage owners for redevelopment hence the local “Adam’s Garage” and “Adams of Peterborough”, as well as the nearby Windmill public house and Windmill Road. The stump of the old mill remained on the forecourt of the garage until very recently.
In 2009, the site offered a decidedly unspectacular scene with the Jet petrol station, albeit the Windmill Pub continues to do business directly across the road."
The 1861 census would suggest that John Adams was in March in 1851 when his son was born, and only moved to Millfield in 1852/3 for the birth of Emma Jane.
The discrepancy in dates made me curious as to who the miller was in 1851, clearly not John Adams as I'd found him in March. So I trawled through the Dogsthorpe 1851 census:
On Lincoln Road, Dogsthorpe, Mill House
- Joseph Adams, head, 33, Miller, born Hammerton Huntingdonshire.
- Hannah, wife, 28, born Maxey Northants.
- Joshua H, son, 6, born Fletton Huntingdonshire.
- Elizabeth, daur, 5, born Fletton Huntingdonshire.
- Mary, daur, 3, born Dogsthorpe Northants.
- Frances Hard, servant, female, 17, House Servant, born Dogsthorpe Northants.
So it was Joseph not John who had come from Fletton in 1846 (going by the places of birth of his children). So what became of Joseph, and surely there has to be some family relationship?
And to complicate things further in the 1881 Census:
Lincoln Road West Side Bakers Shop
- John Adams, head, 69 Miller and Baker, born Loughton Bucks.
- Harriet, wife, 62, born March Cambs.
- John H, son, 24, Miller and Baker, born Peterborough Northants.
- Julia Finkle, servant, born Ramsey
- Thomas H Goff, servant, Journeyman Baker, born Alford Lincs.
And next door but one:
- William Adams, head, 41, Miller and Baker, born Peterborough Northants.
- Harriett, wife, 43, born Peterborough.
- Francis, son 17, Baker.
- Joseph H, son, 13.
- Alfred, son, 10.
- Harriett J, daur, 7. All born in Peterborough.
So no wonder it was called Adam's Mill there were enough of them about! I have found that Joseph and John both had fathers called William, but I've been unable to prove they are the same person. If there are any Adams out there who have a handle on this I'd love to know.
A 1906 image of the mill.
In the Pigot's Directory of 1841 Millers John Baker, Dogsthorpe.
See more at: specialcollections.le.ac.uk/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16445coll4/id/167148/rec/1
