Past & Present

George Edwards' Flint Mill was a large mill located near the bottom of Ruxley Road, named as High Street at the time. It stood by the old mill stream taken off the River Trent near Finney Gardens, and was used for ground bone and flint.

The ceramics industry was revolutionised by ground bone and flint. In the early 18th-century, water-powered corn mills were converted and new water mills were built - as wind could not supply the continuous power needed. Later, steam engines became more powerful and reliable. Calcined bone and flint was mixed with water and ground in pans using large millstones, and a pair of calcining kilns were used on this site. The old water wheel was housed at the back of the larger buildings. [2]

The two ovens on the site were calcining kilns where flint was roasted (calcined) to become brittle and easier to crush into a powder. This could then be added to the clay body. The original water wheel was housed in the large building, with the mill stream and sluice running behind. With the redesign of Ruxley Road and Werrington Road later on in years, the entire site was demolished in the 1960s. [3] It now comprises of Ruxley Court, with three 3-storey blocks of flats present in its former place.