What's going on at Town Mill?
Well, the simple answer is, as a heritage jewel and a community hub there's always something going at the Town Mill.
Follow our TOWN MILL DIARIES to find out the huge variety of activities that are keeping us busy here. Let's share with you what has been going on this autumn.
WORK YOUR WAY AROUND THE MILL - WITH OUR NEW EDUCATIONAL WORKSHEETS
It was great to work with environmental champions LITTLE GREEN CHANGE who specialise in environmental education for primary and secondary-aged children. We asked Little Green Change to work with us to develop ways for us to better engage with our young visitors to learn about the way the mill works, our renewable energy technology and the edible and medicinal plants and pollinators you can spy in the Miller's Garden if you look carefully! The result is we now have a range of fantastic interactive worksheets which have been very well received by our young visitors - and they are available for FREE when you visit the mill!
A DECADE OF DEDICATION
We were thrilled at the mill to learn that volunteer miller - and Chair of Trustees - Rob McLaughlin was recognised for a DECADE OF DEDICATION AWARD at the 2025 VOLUNTEER CENTRE DORSET'S Celebration Evening. It is people like Rob who ultimately drive much that is achieved in our community , with Rob in particular having a strong conviction for service for the greater good - but expecting no reward or acknowledgment. We say ourselves "our mlll is partly powered by water, but mostly powered by volunteers." The same is true for many of the community=focused organisations at the event - powered by volunteers - & it is a delight to see their contributions recognised in this way.
YOUNG PEOPLE FROM ASCape MAKE A SPECIAL MILL VISIT
ASCape is a charity dedicated to improving the lives of autistic and socially anxious children and young adults in West Dorset - and we had a fabulous time hosting a fantastic group of ASCape youngsters and their families at the mill. One of the avenues ASCape uses to widen participation is to organise events and experiences which create unique and manageable opportunities for these young people to enjoy everything life has to offer in a supportive, non-judgemental and understanding space. We were delighted that we could tailor our experience of visiting the mill in a way that made our space accessible and enjoyable for them all! After exploring the mill and checking the quality of the flour, everyone enjoyed getting "hands-on" at their own milling station, using our simple hand mills. These mills converted everyone's energy - needed to turn the handle which in turn turns the millstones - to produce their own mini bag of flour from grain. It was our great pleasure to spend some time with these fantastic young people who really did embrace every moment.
AUTUMN-INSPIRED ART WORKSHOPS
Beautiful work emerged from a 2-day Autumn themed arts workshop here at the Town Mill - hosted by the extremely talented LISA PARKYN who is so giving in sharing practice. With the Bakehouse Studio transformed for the workshop and the days punctuated with wonderful lunches and delicious cakes from STRAWBERRY TREE RESTAURANT below, it was a wonderful way for the participants to develop their creative inclinations
LYME ABSTRACT GROUP SEIZE OPPORTUNITY TO EXHIBIT IN THE MALTHOUSE
We are huge fans of abstract art work so we were delighted to offer an impromptu opportunity to local community art group LYME REGIS ABSTRACT ART - a local initiative headed up by the super-talented SUE HODGETTS - to come and exhibit in the gallery. This group has been going sine 2022 and brings together a small group of enthusiastic local artists who create work both individually and collaboratively, meeting each week to discuss, share and embrace abstract art in all its forms. With each group member having worked to a shared brief to prepare for the exhibition - producing wildly different but stunning results - the gallery was filled with work with detail, energy and intrigue!
"BE PREPARED" - THE GUIDES CERTAINLY WERE
We welcomed the 1st Charmouth Girl Guides for an evening visit to the mill - and what a brilliant time we had! After a short tour of our stoneground milling process inside Town Mill, each Guide had the chance to mill their own bag of flour using our mini milling machines. They discovered for themselves how grain becomes flour, learned the simplicity of traditional stoneground methods....and got to take home their freshly milled flour. We rounded off the evening in the best way possible - a chip supper! We're so thrilled the Guides enjoyed their visit and proud to inspire the next generation of bakers, makers and curious minds.
OKTOBERFEST COMES TO TOWN MILL
Late October brought an especially lively atmosphere to TOWN MILL as our tenants LYME REGIS BREWERY transformed the Malthouse Gallery into a buzzing music venue for their much anticipated Oktoberfest weekend. With live music and free entry, the space took on a whole new energy - part festival, part gathering place - drawing families, friends and visitors who stayed into the evening to enjoy the atmosphere. In the spirit of the occasion, our brilliant volunteers helped keep the mill open late into the evening on both nights. These twilights openings proved wonderfully successful, welcoming many people to the mill who might never step inside during the day and giving them the chance to explore the building in a different light. We were especially pleased to help kick off the weekend by supporting young musicians from THE WOODROFFE SCHOOL. An emerging band - THE PENTAGONISTS (pictured here) - opened the event to an enthusiastic crowd of friends and supporters - a fantastic next step onto a wider stage for these talented youngsters and a moment that perfectly captured the community spirit of the event. The result was a joyful, welcoming weekend filled with music, laughter and connection - exactly the kind of shared experience that feels at home here at the Mill.
TRADITIONAL SKILLS - SPOOKY RESULTS!
We started a wonderful half-term at Town Mill by welcoming back VON'S CRAFTERY who kicked off the week with a fantastic drop-in children's woodblock printing workshop. 22 children joined us to design and print their own Halloween Tote Bag using traditional woodblock printing techniques - each one proudly handmade and completely unique. Yvonne and her son Will created such a warm, welcoming space for crafting. Their generosity, patience and anthusiasm made the day a real joy, and it was lovely to see the children's confidence grow as their designs came to life under such kind guidance. In keeping with the Mill's commitment to being open and accessible to all, the workshop was offered on a donation-only basis, ensuring no child was excluded because of cost. Providing opportunities like this - particularly for families and yound people who might not always find it easy to access creative activities - is an important part of our community mission, and it was heartening to see such a fantastic response with busy hands and bright ideas.
MINI MILLERS RETURNS - HALLOWEEN EDITION!
As you would expect, more fabulous milling taking place over the October half term with 36 Mini Millers graduating from our Mill Academy! All the visiting youngsters started off by learning a little bit about our historic mill & seeing how our HUGE waterwheel turns by harnessing power from the river. Then it was off to try milling for themselves on our hand-powered mills. Every Mini Miller was so dedicated to the cause and our Chief Town Mill Miller - responsible for quality control - was delighted to report that, having applied the traditional test of "rule of thumb" (pinching a little flour between thumb and finger to see if it forms a disc) to everyone's flour, that flour of exceptional quality had been produced by the Mini Millers!
Remember what we say - "Where there's a mill.....there's a way".
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Credits:
Created with an image by Nitr - "wheat ears and grains"