{{short description|Watermill in Wickham, Hampshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} thumb|Chesapeake Mill [[File:Chesapeake Mill, Bridge Street, Wickham - geograph.org.uk - 458080.jpg|thumb|Bridge Street, Wickham, Hampshire]] The '''Chesapeake Mill''' is a watermill in Wickham, Hampshire, England. The flour mill was constructed in 1820 using the timbers of HMS ''Chesapeake'', which had previously been the United States Navy frigate {{USS|Chesapeake|1799|6}}. The ''Chesapeake'' was attacked and boarded by HMS ''Leopard'' on 22 June 1807. She was released but the event caused an uproar among Americans (see Chesapeake–Leopard affair). She was captured on 1 June 1813 by the Royal Navy frigate {{HMS|Shannon|1806|6}} during War of 1812.
In July 1819 the Commissioners of the Royal Navy put her up for sale at Plymouth.<ref name="Gazette1228">{{London Gazette|issue=17494|page=1228|date=13 July 1819}}</ref> Joshua Holmes, a ship breaker in Portsmouth, purchased her for £500; he dismantled the ship and sold her timbers for £3,450.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Caiella |first=J M |date=August 2007 |title=Connecting with the Ships |journal=Naval History |volume=21 |issue=4}}</ref><ref name="TVP2" /> Eventually her timbers became part of the mill.<ref name="CMill">{{cite web |title=The Chesapeake Mill — history |publisher=The Chesapeake Mill |url=http://www.chesapeakemill.co.uk/historypdf001.pdf |format=PDF |access-date=22 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030083543/http://www.chesapeakemill.co.uk/historypdf001.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Beach113">Beach (1986), p. 113.{{Full citation needed|date=June 2020}}</ref> Timbers from the ''Chesapeake'' were bought by John Prior, who was preparing to build a new mill at Wickham. The five main spine beams to each floor, the floor joists, the roof timbers and most of the window lintels are of American longleaf pine from the ship.<ref name=NHLE/>
The mill remained in operation until 1976 and now serves as a retail centre for antique and gift sellers. It is a Grade II* listed building.<ref name=NHLE>{{NHLE |num=1157675 |access-date=12 June 2011}}</ref> {{coord|50|54|1.1|N|1|11|5.6|W|display=title}}
In 1996 a timber fragment from the Chesapeake Mill was returned to the United States; it is on display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, Virginia.<ref name="TVP2">{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Clancy |title=The Little Warship That Never Quite Could |work=The Virginian Pilot |page=B3 |date=17 June 2007}}</ref>
In late 2020 another piece of the original frigate was returned to the United States. It was given to the U.S. Navy's Secretary of the Navy, during his visit to England.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2021-01-15|title=SECNAV Names Future Vessels while aboard Historic Navy Ship|url=https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2474454/secnav-names-future-vessels-while-aboard-historic-navy-ship/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115235525/https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2474454/secnav-names-future-vessels-while-aboard-historic-navy-ship/ |archive-date=2021-01-15 |access-date=2021-01-16|website=United States Navy|language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
*{{cite news |title=New Light on Chesapeake's Defeat 100 Years Ago |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/06/01/100626309.pdf |format=pdf |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1 June 1913}}
==External links== * [https://thechesapeakemill.com/ Chesapeake Mill website] {{Shopping centres in Southeast England}}
Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire Category:Shopping centres in Hampshire Category:Watermills in Hampshire Category:Industrial buildings completed in 1820 Category:Grade II* listed industrial buildings