Mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086): “Ruindune: Ranulf, brother of Ilger. Mill”. Ranulf was another Norman nobleman gifted land by William the Conqueror, who reigned from 1066 – 1087 before being succeeded by his son WIlliam II.
The town came to be known as Reidona in 1130, as Reindon in 1204, and as Roindon in 1208.
Today the village has a shop, Sub Post Office, Pharmacy and Grade I listed Church, St Peter's, that dates from the Middle Ages.
It also used to have a very quaint Italian restaurant that occupied the train station's old ticket hall, where you could dine as the Stansted Express thundered past!
Roydon's other recent claim to fame is a Black Poplar Tree that was nominated as one of the nation's 50 great trees in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. It grows in World's End Wood: N 51.766568, E 0.052899.
The Lock
There is no mill directly associated with this lock, Roydon Mill mainly functioned with Brick Lock (No.14 in this series) which is another mile down river. However in 1833 an impressive 2 story lock-keepers house was built here that housed both lock-keeper and the RIver Stort 'collector of tolls'. The current building that sits to the left of the lock (if you are headed in a south-westerly direction) was built in the 1960's but it retains a plaque of the Duckett coat of arms. George Duckett (aka George Jackson) was the man who achieved the UK Parliament act that led to the Stort being canalised with locks installed circa 1769.
The Jackson Coat of Arms.