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Page 4 |
Newsletter 92, Spring 2011 © Hampshire Mills Group |
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An Island
Jewel: How Calbourne Watermill shines
out from the centre of Wight |
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Wendy, the all important face at the
door |
Victorian roller mill |
Rex Punt the miller explains |
The delightful, diamond shaped Isle of
Wight is so easily dismissed as a
holiday playground with many of its well
known treasures commercially cashed in
on. Well, in the very heart of the
island, far away from the well
publicised tourist spots is a watermill
producing several types of flour in the
traditional, stoneground way and
teaching whoever comes the ins and outs
of milling and flour production. For a
modest sum people can wander for hours
at will, throughout the mill buildings,
the ten acres of woods and meadows, the
outbuildings charting the rural life of
the locality and the part the mill has
played in it.
Noted in the Domesday Book, the mill
changed hands and tenancies many times
through the centuries until the present
owners, Tony and Sally Chaucer, bought
Lower Calbourne Mill in the millennium
year, 2000. They have wrought many
changes – all to the good - and with the
survival of this traditional, working
watermill as the essential reason for
their ground-breaking innovations in
line with current environmental
expectations and legislation. |
Stones floor
photo John Mears |
The Boulter |
Well labelled machinery |
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Bringing this ancient mill site into the
21st century are: A
Bio-Bubble which deals with waste water
from all aspects of the mill site,
ensuring a clean flow into the Caul
Bourne to safeguard the SSSI site of
Newtown River, which it joins just 3km
away, and the Hamstead Heritage Coast;
solar and wind power to the shop,
offices and cafe. The most recent
additions are the wooden Eco-Homes built
for holidaymakers to rent complementing
the campsite, all set apart from the
visitors’ mill site.
Education plays a vital role with
visiting schoolchildren, as the Chaucers
strongly feel the mill site offers
opportunities encompassing a host of
activities throughout the school
curriculum for the complete range of
ages. As well as a room set aside
with two querns on a work bench where
the millers and teachers can work with
young children, Margaret Punt acts as a
Mill Interpreter explaining all the
workings of the mill, inside and out.
Not only are maths, science, history and
geography covered but modern studies for
the older students are found in
environment, business management and,
that very popular new university course,
Leisure & Tourism!
On the subject of Tourism - the
cafeteria produces lovely, home cooked,
wholesome, reasonably priced meals.
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The rotary dresser |
Hands on experience with a quern |
And of course the shop |
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Out of the 30-40 tons of flour milled
each year several types are produced;
apart from the usual wholemeal try: Rye,
Spelt, Barley Meal, Malted multi-grain
and their own strong white flour. Many
shops across the Island, and on the
Mainland, are supplied as well as
mail-order and direct sales.
Neil Smith is the full time miller who
also runs training courses in milling.
He is ably supported by relief millers,
Rex Punt and Richard Monk.
The mill is powered by a 20ft diameter
iron overshot wheel fed from a launder
off of the Caul Bourne (which flows
through the site). Being able to get up
close to a lot of the machinery such as
the roller mills, boulter and dresser is
a bonus, although, of course, there are
safeguards around the working stones and
gearings.
Enterprise has to be embraced to ensure
the survival of this watermill in its
tranquil setting, where the main body of
visitors is seen in the spring and
summer. Tony and Sally Chaucer have
successfully achieved a balance without
comprising the integrity of the
watermill and preside over a very well
ordered and well run site. So all I can
say, is VISIT IT AND OFTEN!
Sheila Viner and John Mears visited
Calbourne Water Mill on 3rd
September 2010.
To discover more about this lovely old
watermill and how to visit it, go to the
website:
www.calbournewatermill.co.uk
or telephone 01983 531227.
Calbourne Water Mill & Rural Museum,
Newport Road, Calbourne, Isle of Wight.
PO30 4JN.
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