Flatford Mill

Flatford Mill

Although no longer accessible inside by the public, you can still see the building from both the front and back.


Owned by John Constable’s father, Golding Constable, and later also by his brother, Abram Constable, the water-powered mill ground grain for flour.
Milling continued at Flatford until the turn of the 20th-century but by the 1920s the mill was in a bad state of repair.
The National Trust acquired Flatford Mill along with Willy Lott’s House in 1943 and since 1946 (along with Valley Farm since 1959) they have been leased to the Field Studies Council (FSC).


The FSC runs a range of residential courses that take place inside the mill. This means that although visitors are unable to go inside, Flatford remains a working hamlet all year round.
You are able, however, to appreciate the views of the mill from the front and back just as Constable would have done almost 200 years ago.


The National Trust, the FSC, the River Stour Trust, the RSPB and Dedham AONB continue to work together to preserve the Flatford estate.