Dunster Working Watermill (also known as Castle Mill) is a restored 18th century

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

, situated on the River Avill, close to Gallox Bridge, in the grounds of

Dunster Castle Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a English country house, country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo- ...

Dunster Dunster is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Unit ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and within the Grade II* registered parkland of the castle. The mill stands on a site where a mill was first recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

, but the present building was constructed around 1780. It closed in 1962 but was restored in 1979 and is still used to grind flour. The equipment is powered by two overshot wheels. It is owned and run by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

History

At the time of the

in 1086 there were two mills in Dunster. One which was called the Lower Mill was on the site of the present mill. In the 17th century there were both malt and oats mills but by 1721 one of these had been converted to a

fulling Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

mill. The present mill, which was built around 1780 and replaced the two former mills. In 1940 a bakery was added. The mill ground corn until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and then animal feed until it closed in 1962. It was restored to working order in 1979, winning a conservation award in 1982. The mill still produces Wheat, Rye and Spelt flour from organic grain. A cafe was opened in the buildings which used to be the wagon house and stables. Further restoration work, completed in 2007, was funded by the Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund. It is owned by the

and can be visited by National Trust members for free or by non-members buying an entry ticket. The site is visited by around 60,000 tourists a year and produces around 10 tonnes of flour each year. The second (Lower) waterwheel was replaced in 2015 and the associated machinery was refurbished and repaired in 2016. The millstones connected to the new (Lower) wheel were dressed in 2023.

Architecture and machinery

The three-storey building has a slate roof. To the south east a stone wall contains

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

gates in an arched gateway. The milling equipment is powered by a pair of overshot waterwheels, which transfer power to associated (internal) pit wheel, spur wheel and stone nut. This then drives the millstones. There are trapdoors on the first and second floors to allow grain to be hoisted up the building via the sack hoist.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Dunster Watermill
Dunster Working Watermill information at the National Trust
Watermills in Somerset Watermills mentioned in the Domesday Book Museums in Somerset Mill museums in England Grade II* listed buildings in West Somerset National Trust properties in Somerset Grade II* listed watermills

History

Architecture and machinery

See also

References

External links