It is said to be the only tide mill in western Europe that is still operating.
The water also provided a means of transporting commodities and there was a tide mill at Walton.
The tide mill has a pair of independent waterwheels designed to drive a millstone each.
A different type of watermill is the tide mill.
It worked in conjunction with a tide mill close by.
The first recording of a tide mill on this site was in 1170; it is unknown how many mills have stood here.
In 1957 it closed as the last commercially operating tide mill in Britain.
A modern version of a tide mill is the electricity generating tidal barrage.
Inside the gatehouse is a lower level with a tide mill for grinding corn.
At Beaulieu the river becomes tidal and once drove a tide mill in the village.