Sunday 19 February 2012

Lode Mill



Lode Mill stands in the grounds of Anglesey Abbey and a visit can be combined with the house and gardens for a very satisfying day out. There has been a watermill on this site since before the Domesday Book, but the present structure dates from the eighteenth century. It was used to grind wheat for flour until it was converted to produce cement around 1900. This continued till 1920 when the business closed and the mill was left to become derelict.

The waterwheel that powers the whole operation

Lord Fairhaven, the owner of Anglesey Abbey, bought the mill in 1934, tidied up the outside of the building and used it to store garden seats and statues during the winter months. In 1977 the Cambridgeshire Wind And Watermill Society began restoring the internal workings, a task that was completed in 1982.


The mill now produces stone ground flour to sell to visitors. Taking photographs was not easy as the whole building vibrates once the machinery is set in motion!


A steep set of steps, where parents worried and fussed while their offspring clambered up without any difficulty, led up to the next floor where much of the machinery was visible.


A second set of steps, which most of the children had negotiated before their parents arrived to give words of advice, gave a different view down on to the machinery. It appears that there are four sets of millstones though only one set is in use.


A "Penny and Porter" grain cleaning machine is exhibited on the next floor. It's no longer operational and is exhibited in a way that allows you to see how it worked.


If you've ever wondered exactly what a bushel was, here's just the exhibit for you...


....an exact measure was achieved by levelling the grain across the top of the container with a stick or "strike", which explains the pub name "The Bushel And Strike" - I always wondered what the strike was. 

                             8 gallons = 1 bushel
                             4 bushels = 1 coomb or sack
                             8 bushels = 1 quarter

a coomb sack of wheat weighed about 20 stone, 280 lbs or 127 Kg. Men regularly carried them on their backs.


A glance upwards showed that we were now at the top of the building; a disappointment to adventurous children.


Back down at ground level you could try your hand at turning a hand quern. I really enjoyed my visit and as you can see it's a great place for the young.

 And the young at heart...


Take care.

18 comments:

  1. Nice post, John, and well photographed. Wish I could have toured with you. It appears the wheel is an overshot. I've never seen an overshot wheel housed within the mill before. Is that the mill pond coming right up to the edge of the building or is the millrace just unusually large? You also introduced me to a new word, coomb. I had a friend who recently passed away whose surname was "Coombs" and I had always wondered about his name. Perhaps it's associated with milling. Jim

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  2. Lode Mill appears well maintained; I smiled imagining you taking photos in a rockin’ mill. It is interesting to be able to see how things happened yesteryear i.e. the grain-cleaning machine on exhibit. Ouch to the carrying a comb sack; a cold ale or a glass of port at the end of day well deserved. Nice post!

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  3. I noticed the all the dust from milling grain. I've read of just the right mixture of this dust in the air can ignite and explode. Weird. Nice post.

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  4. What a great ending to this post!

    I visited a similar, but smaller, mill in Shropshire last year and it was very interesting.

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  5. Visiting these relics of the past is a good way of connecting us with our history. This reminds me of Old Sturbridge Village, a historic village 45 minutes northeast of Hartford. I showed a gristmill at Sturbridge last fall.

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  6. The word "coomb" also means a valley, Jim, so your friend's name could have meant someone who lived in a valley (?)

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  7. Now that's smart thinking hey John, produce something that people can buy to cover some of the costs and be able to maintain a piece of history as it was. Blimey they bred them tough in those days, 127kg bags you say!! Tres interesting post indeed! All jokes aside, I truly believe that's what keeps a person young, an avid interest in all things!!

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  8. Loved the photos and info about the mill. My father was just telling me they recently found a huge old mill stone in a creek near here.

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  9. What I want to read now John is that you bought some flour, took it home and baked a loaf of bread.

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  10. The old technology still works well, doesn't it? Sinbad, yes, grain dust can cause an explosion. A few years ago, our local feed mill suffered a fire because of dust spontaneously combusting.

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  11. This is the sort of place I love to visit in person. Neat photos of the old mill.

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  12. Love that series of shots... oh and I'll bet that the flour makes great bread!

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  13. We have a nice old Grist Mill here in Keremeos, - a tourist attraction now, but it is in working condition and has gardens as well, - I must do a posting on it soon. In the mid 1800's farmers used to come here from all over southern British Columbia to have their grain milled. Now it has a gift shop!!!

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  14. Thanks for all the comments. Sorry but I'm no baker!

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  15. I can imagine my grandsons enjoying visiting the mill. I has to look up the word 'Lode', oddly enough it's also turned up in a book called 'Days and Nights on Hunter's Fen' that I'm reading. Now I know that it's a sort of canal connecting a village to a river.

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  16. Forgot to say that 'Reuben's Corner' arrived this morning so I shall be dipping into that soon.

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  17. I'm trying to imagine the smell in a building where grain is ground. An interesting visit and good to know that the mill has been reclaimed.

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