Description:There was a mill on this site since mediaeval times belonging to Stone Priory. The current mill in Stone was built in 1795 for Robert Bill as a water-powered corn mill. Richard Smith, the inventor of 'Hovis' was born in the mill house in 1836. In 1887 he patented an idea to extract wheatgerm, lightly cook it and replace it in the bread. Working with S. Fitton & Sons Ltd., millers of Macclesfield. 'Hovis' is a contraction of Hominis Vis: 'the strength of man'. The Mill is now (2022) a restaurant and hotel.
An engraving showing property owned by Earl Granville published in 'The Pictorial World', 24 February 1883.