Rubble at t'mill (1)

The last time Sarehole Mill had any extensive work carried out was in 1969.  Wear and tear has worked its wicked will on the buildings but now funding has been granted to give the mill much-needed tender loving care.  Toilets were installed a few years ago in the old stable block and a cafe is now in regular use.

New slates will replace damaged and friable roof tiles.  Water seeping its way through the brickwork has been denied entry.  Access to the first floor and the milling machinery is now by a sloping wheelchair-friendly path around the back.   The original access is still available for those nimble enough to climb up the steep and narrow ladder should that be your desire.   I have been known to ascend that way myself, on occasion.  Fortunately for me, you cannot descend that way.  A one-way system exists to see the mill machinery and the new exhibition: ‘Signpost to Middle-earth’.

Creating the new path meant removing overpowering, overgrown, laurel bushes and dark and
 uninspiring trees and roots.  This left behind empty beds except for the crops of Edwardian house-bricks buried within, not to mention remnants of greenhouses past.  The cleared beds became The Gaffer’s Vegetable Patch and Sam’s Flower Garden, reflecting J.R.R. Tolkien’s connections with the Mill.  

Last year, 2011, on one particularly rainy day, I took it upon myself to plant the flower bed,  with many, (that is many, many, not to mention muddy), perennials that would, hopefully, attract bees, butterflies and birds.  And they did!  The bed was transformed.  Unfortunately, current weather conditions have not favoured the bee-hive that has been installed at the mill.  But the flowers were quite wonderful and the vegetable patch flourishing.  A variety of shrubs were planted in a desolate bed alongside the mill path leading to the back of the mill.  Subsequently, a fernery leading to a tiny woodland was started and a woodland path was cleared through a holly cave leading to this young, but enthusiastic copse featuring, in the spring, young and enthusiastic bluebells.

More plans are afoot.  The mill pool is to be dredged at long last over the autumn/winter.   The mill wheel has only been able to run for short bursts. Deep layers of silt in the pond were stirred up badly when the wheel was running.  The aroma was interesting.  Acidic, not to mention aggressive undertones, with a tad too much oxidisation.  Next year, milling can start again and flour produced for sale.  Plans are in hand to restore the bakery.

Before

After

     
Draining the pool had a knock on effect.  Not least because I have not seen the crane that was a frequent visitor.   Hopefully he or she will return when conditions are favourable.  The lesser spotted woodpecker was undetered though.

Current Condition

Because the silt removal will mean deeper water, the pressure on the old wooden sluice gates will be stronger.  These are, therefore, being replaced even as I write.  Watching the mill pool during the months since it was drained has been fascinating.  It was, to say the least, quite appalling how much grey slimy silt there was.  The amount of water must have been about 6".    As it dried (earlier in the year), it looked like an old oil painting with its ancient glaze fractured.  Then came the rain and now the sunshine and it is currently sprouting quite amazing and, I think, attractive growths of bright green and yellow plant life across the whole surface.  Well worth a visit in its own right.

After the summer season is over the mill will be clad in scaffolding and the silt lifted from the pond.  We should be patient, however, for come the spring the mill will emerge from its cocoon, like the butterflies we are trying to encourage.

The mill is open until the end of October from 12.00 to 4.00 every day except Mondays.  There is a charge to look round the mill but the grounds are free to wander around, perhaps after a cup of tea and cake in the cafe.