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GRO Tesco carpark IMG 1280
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Stratford Mill is first recorded in 1607, when it was in use as a cloth mill. In 1627, the property consisted of a house, grist mill, tuck-mill and four racks for drying broadcloth. It was converted for use as a corn mill around 1735, and remained in production until 1984.
Reynolds and Allen, who leased the mill from 1863 onwards, used a combination of steam and water power to drive no less than 21 pairs of stones for grinding corn. By 1901, the mill belonged to R. Townsend & Co. Ltd., who manufactured a variety of products here, including cattle cake, seed corn, manure and farm fertilizers.
The mill was badly damaged by fire in 1908, but Townsends continued to trade until they were taken over by Rank Hovis Macdougall. In 1983, the mill was taken over again by Dalgety Spillers, who closed the mill the following year. The mill building was demolished and replaced by the Tesco supermarket, which was the first to be opened in Stroud.
The route of the proposed access road to the supermarket was the subject of a major protest, as the line originally suggested involved the felling of a number of mature trees. The protesters won, and the access road was re-routed.
From January 2016, this website is managed by Stroud Local
History Society
Revised 2018 EMW
