Eibergen – Mallem Mill

Mallem Mill lies on an old branch of the river Berkel in the hamlet of Mallem near Eibergen. It was first mentioned in 1424 as a water mill for hulling grain. It is the only water-powered hulling mill in the Netherlands.

Mallem Manor
Mallem Manor is mentioned as part of Count Van Dale´s estate in as early as 1188, listed as ´curtis Mallande’. The water mill is mentioned in 1424, when the lord of Mallem sold it to Otto van Bronkhorst, lord of Borculo. Since the 12th century, feudal law compelled the local tenant farmers to have their grain milled at the lord’s mill. This enabled the lord to collect a portion of the grain as a tax. This was the case in the hamlet of Mallem until the feudal laws were finally abolished in around 1800.

A double mill
Mallem Mill actually consisted of two mills: a corn mill on the right bank and an oil and bark mill on the left bank. The bark mill ground the bark from oak trees into powder and extracted tannins for use in the tanning of leather. In the18th century, both the mills burned down in quick succession, but were subsequently rebuilt. The mill is now run by volunteers who use it for grinding corn and hulling rice and groats.

Shipping
The mill in Mallem is not far from the lock in the river Berkel, which was an important shipping route between the town of Zutphen in the Netherlands and the town of Vreden in Germany for centuries. At that time, goods were largely transported by water using a so-called ‘zompen’: sturdy boats about 12 metres in length that could carry a load of around eight tonnes. In order to maintain the navigability of the river, locks were also built in Lochem, Borculo, and Eibergen. The lock in the Berkel in Mallem is a reminder of the glory days of shipping on the river Berkel.