Three Mills

The Three Mills are former working mills on the River Lea in the East End of London, one of London’s oldest extant industrial centres.The mills lie in the West Ham area of the London Borough of Newham; however, despite lying on the West Ham side of the Lea, access is principally from the western, Bromley-by-Bow, side of the river. This factor together, with them being assigned an E3 postal address sometimes also leads to the Mills being described as being in Bromley-by-Bow.The largest and most powerful of the four remaining tidal mills is reputed to be the largest tidal mill in the world.The River Lea Tidal Mill Trust Ltd owns the House Mill and the Miller's House buildings, which are used for educational projects and as conference spaces. The Lower Lea Project is also based at Three Mills in The Miller's House.HistoryIt is thought that there were eight or possibly nine mills on the River Lea in Stratford at the time of the Domesday Book (though this number may refer to the number of pairs of millstones rather than buildings). These are the earliest recorded examples of a tidal mill system.