Hawarden was in fact one of the last water mills to close, most likely due to staying in production having still operated within Gladstone Estate. Operation ceased here in the early 1940s, which undoubtedly suggests that small-scale corn milling had to take a back step whilst there was a war to fight. Death duties being what they were, estates had to make certain sacrifices and this wouldn’t have been a tough decision to make in light of the bigger picture.