Nendrum Monastery mill

The Nendrum Monastery mill was a tide mill built in the eighth century on an island in Strangford Lough, now in County Down, serving the Nendrum Monastery.

This mill is the earliest excavated example of a tide mill, dating from 787 AD. Its millstones are 33 inches in diameter and the horizontal wheel is estimated to have developed 7-8 HP at its peak. Remains of an earlier mill dated at 619 AD were also found.

The tidal flow into Strangford Lough through its narrow entrance to the sea is a strong current, and gave the lough its name, so it is an ideal location for a tide-driven mill. Today a tidal power generator stands in the lough entrance for the same reason.

Outside links

• Location map: 54°30’0"N, 5°38’49"W
• Nendrum Monastery mill

Further reading

• McErlean, T. & Crothers, N.: “Harnessing the Tides: The Early Medieval Tide Mills at Nendrum Monastery, Strangford Lough”, 2007, The Stationery Office, UK, ISBN 0-337-08877-2
• Rynne, Colin: Milling in the 7th Century – Europe’s earliest tide mills, in: Archaeology Ireland 6, 1992