The mill furthest upstream was Scole Flax Mill, although it was not a watermill, being powered by steam. It was built by C.F. Costerton in 1854, in an attempt to alleviate poverty during the agricultural depressions of the 1840s, which followed the cessation of war with France. He persuaded farmers to grow flax, and provided the facilities to process it, both at the mill and at a factory in Eye run by his business partner Peter Naylor. The flax was grown for its fibres, which were used to make linen sheeting, sacking and rope, and for its seeds, from which linseed oil was obtained. Production was encouraged by presenting a cup each year to the farmer who had produced the highest yield on of land. With the mill affected by a decline in local supplies and overseas competition, it closed in 1881, after which the machinery was removed and the buildings demolished.
