What is "yafford"

Yafford is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight. It is located nine kilometres southwest from Newport in an area known as the Back of the Wight between Brighstone and Niton. It has a non operational water mill, which was working until 1970. The mill has an overshot water wheel, powered by the flow of water from a millpond. The pond is fed by a stream from the nearby village of Shorwell, part of the Buddle Brook. The name Yafford is said to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "hecce" meaning a hatch or sluice. The mill was a grist mill, working to grind corn (wheat, oats, barley) to create animal feed; it did not have the machinery to produce fine flour for people.