River Wye

The River Wye is a chalk river in Buckinghamshire. It begins near West Wycombe village in the Chiltern Hills and flows for about 10.5 miles. The river passes through High Wycombe, where it is joined by tributaries like Hughenden Stream. It ends where it meets the River Thames at Bourne End, above Cookham Lock. In very wet years the source can shift further up the valley. The river now runs underground through the centre of High Wycombe. Pann Mill is the last remaining watermill on the river. The Wye Valley drops about 220 feet over its course. The Domesday Book lists eighteen water-mills between West Wycombe and the Thames. By the seventeenth century there were fulling and corn mills along the river. Paper mills also appeared, making paper from rags. At its peak in 1816 there were 32 paper mills in the valley. The Fourdrinier machine at nearby Frogmore Paper Mill changed production and caused unemployment. In 1830 machine wreckers rioted at Ash, Marsh Green and Loudwater. Pann Mill stands at the eastern end of Wycombe. It is the last watermill on the river. The valley once had many mills, some making paper and others grinding corn. Steam replaced water power in the mid-nineteenth century. The Soho mill in Wooburn supplied high-grade colour paper until 1984. The river’s mills tell a story of industry and change along its banks.