Blue plaque for Jean Gardner

On Thursday 29 May The Woodbridge and Melton Society and the Woodbridge Tide Mill Charitable Trust unveiled a Blue Plaque on Woodbridge Tide Mill honouring Mrs Jean Gardner. Mrs Gardner bought the near derelict Mill in 1968 for £7,300 and encouraged its restoration. In 1977 she gave it to the Town for the enjoyment of the people of Woodbridge. It is now the only working tide mill in the UK and still produces stoneground flour.

The unveiling, attended by invited guests from the community and four generations of Jean Gardner’s extended family. The plaque was unveiled by George one of her great-great grandsons.

Woodbridge Tide Mill Museum Chair, John Carrington comments “The Mill’s Trustees cannot overstate the importance of Mrs Jean Gardner who purchased the Mill to save it. Mrs Gardner approached Norman Scarfe, a local historian, after hearing him lecture on the Mill’s plight. They discussed the possibility of her buying and restoring it. Time was short but at its auction in May 1968 Mrs Gardner became the proud owner of a ruined Mill and granary!

This unique and attractive part of the Woodbridge Riverside is a tribute to the generosity of Mrs Jean Gardner, without whom it would surely have been lost. The Tide Mill remains a symbol of the Suffolk tourist industry. It is one of the most photographed, painted and drawn buildings in the East of England, and attracts the attention and interest of mill enthusiasts worldwide.

We are grateful to the work of the Woodbridge and Melton Society in securing this lasting tribute to the lady that saved the Mill”.