Autumn at the mill: restoration work.
A visit from Abberley Gardening Club.
On 23rd September, we welcomed ten members of the Abberley Gardening Club—our final scheduled visitors of 2025. Unusually, and exactly as planned, they brought with them small quantities of grain they had grown and winnowed themselves. Their contribution alone was too small to mill, so we added some grain from our own stock. Whenever we mill, a certain amount of grain and flour wastage is inevitable. Grain collects in the dead central area between the stones, and flour accumulates around the wooden tun and in the upper reaches of the flour chute. For this reason, we lift the tun and stones after every milling session to clean and dispose of these unavoidable remnants. The Abberley group were delighted to watch their own grain transformed into flour. Their group leader, Pete Lucas, later wrote: “We all enjoyed it immensely and were very grateful to see our meagre attempts at growing wheat being ground into flour. I used my flour to make some bread and it was delicious.” You were all very welcome, Mr Lucas.
Refettling the old lister winnower.
Speaking of winnowing, our old hand-powered Lister winnower has now been moved under cover, ready for refurbishment once the weather warms up. This early mechanised alternative to the traditional Winnowing Fork was used to separate grain from chaff—an unavoidable mixture whenever grain is harvested, whether manually or mechanically. The winnower’s design is simple but ingenious: A hopper feeds harvested material (controlled by a slider gate) into an airy chamber. At the bottom, a horizontal frame holds two differently graded sieves. Turning a large geared crank handle drives a 2½-foot-diameter cylindrical fan that blasts air through the falling mixture. The light chaff is blown away, while the heavier grain falls onto the sieves. The same crank also shakes the sieve-frame left and right, separating stones, vegetation, and other heavy debris. The cleaned grain is collected beneath. The rebuild will be lengthy due to extensive rot and woodworm. Thankfully, thanks to the generosity of millwright Adam Marriott—who is re-appraising his machinery collection—we are expecting the arrival of a second winnower.
Dressing the millstones.
With the mill inactive for the season, work has begun on the stones themselves. The heavy upstream runner stone has been lifted from its metal gimbal using block and tackle, the gimbal removed from the mace-head (the drive-block atop the driven shaft), and the runner stone flipped over—“just like that,” as the man with the fez once said. Both the runner and the stationary bedstone are now resting on heavy-duty supports, exposing their working surfaces for maintenance. This process, known as dressing the stone’s furrows, sharpens and re-cuts the grooves that grind the grain and help push flour outward by a scissoring action. Our expert miller (and brewer), Rob Higginson, who has performed this demanding work for decades, is undertaking the task. Using a traditional tool called a mill bill—its wooden handle known as a thrift—he first cuts a vertical groove, then chisels a shallow downward slope on one side. Traditionally, the mill bill’s rhomboid cutter is wrought iron and must be constantly re-sharpened and re-tempered. Rob’s own mill bill was modernised thirty years ago with a mild steel body tipped with brazed tungsten carbide, though it too will soon need refurbishment. Rob also reminded us that the furrows have traditional names, passed down through generations. From centre to rim, they are: Swallow → Breast → Bosom → Skirt As ever, the Dibnahs are still learning.
Highlights
Winterising the mill and the millpond's future.
With the Abberley visit concluding our public season, we have begun winterising the mill. We have learnt from experience that extremely wet winters send sudden “tsunami-like” floods of silt rushing down the hill. Each event adds significant silt to the millpond, bringing forward the need for another arduous dredging. We are therefore considering an experiment: completely draining the pond and leaving the drain-sluice open over winter. If a silt-laden storm occurs, the hope is that most of the material will continue through the empty pond and down the millrace, assisted by further heavy rainfall. Whether this proves wise or not… we may end up tossing a coin!
Bonfires, apples and tipsy sheep.
’Tis the bonfire season again, following this mast year’s “season of mellow fruitfulness.” Alongside the usual gardening brash, many broken apple-tree branches—still heavy with fruit—had collected in the orchard. Trefor Cook was once again dispatched, matches in hand, to burn the pile, generating a delicious baked-apple aroma. We have also been busy scratting and pressing apples for juice and cider. Even so, a huge surplus remained. The orchard sheep have happily taken advantage, feasting on windfalls and enjoying their fruity five-a-day. Some became comically unsteady due to fruit that had already begun to ferment.
Gate repairs and woodworking challenges.
John Bunch has completed a superb new half of the double Return Road gates. He and Alan are now restoring the other half to keep it serviceable. Most of the hinge pins—on both gates—had nearly failed, so the three backplates were removed, dismantled, their damaged pins turned down and welded back into place. Unfortunately, three of the old gate’s tenons have also succumbed to rot, calling for yet more of John’s fine carpentry.