A lock was installed here to make the river navigable but the business eventually collapsed due to competition with the Trent and Mersey Canal.

The mill was used for grinding flints for the pottery industry,[1] locally mined plaster, and dyestuffs when it was owned by Samuel Lloyd of the Birmingham banking company.

[2] Activity in this area is known to date from 3,500 bce as a log boat was discovered in nearby Shardlow which contained stones quarried at King's Mill.

[3] Control of this river crossing is first mentioned in a charter agreed by Æþelræd Unræd (King Ethelred the Unready) in 1009 which recognised the position and boundaries of Weston.

The initial construction was a flash lock but this was unpopular as it required considerable energy to move boats up stream and meanwhile the mill would see a sudden flow of additional water.

[8] In 1829, Glover included it and the nearby Weston Cliff crossing in a list for Derbyshire, the other principal ferries were Stapenhill, Walton on Trent, Willington and Twyford.

[9] The chain ferry at King's Mill was operated for many years by Polly Rowbottom, who lived on the Castle Donington side of the river.

Travellers would call for the ferry by ringing a bell, but Mrs Rowbottom would only respond if she was not otherwise engaged in domestic duties, often leading to a lengthy wait.

The ferry continued to operate until the second World War, the landing stage and one of the posts that supported the chain still remain on the Weston side of the river.