The Town Mill

The Town Mill is a fully working flour mill sat proudly in a painstakingly restored cobbled courtyard complex which is also home to art galleries and creative artisan businesses as well as a microbrewery and a restaurant.

Records indicate there has been a mill on the site since 1340 and for centuries the mill delivered flour to the local community. Commercial milling ended in the 1920s, and for some years the mill was used by the council as a depot. By 1991 the mill complex had gone into significant decline and the District Council announced their intention to demolish part of the site and redevelop it. Volunteer group the Town Mill Trust put forward alternative plans to restore the mill to working condition and the local community raised over £500,000 to buy the buildings and begin a project of restoration.

The restoration work took ten years and grain was once again milled in May 2001 and the buildings made open to the public.

The triangular Miller’s Gardens were also restored with the planting based on a seventeenth century selection of flowers, vegetables and herbs.

A hydro-electric turbine installed in 2006 generates electricity for the mill and supplies its surplus to the grid.

When the Mill is open, you are able to view inside and visit all three floors, the sack floor, the stone floor and the meal floor as wheel as the water wheel. You'll find lots of information on various display boards concerning the history, restoration and current day working of the Mill plus there's usually a volunteer miller who will demonstrate the traditional flour milling process and enlighten you on the art of flour making.

There is no charge for a self guided tour of the Mill with donations encouraged to help keep the Mill open and the water wheel turning for visitors to enjoy.

The Town Mill is definitely worth a visit and while you are there, you can purchase their award winning wholemeal wheat, spelt and rye flours from the shop.