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There has been a working mill at Otterton since Norman times when King William granted all the local land hereabouts to the abbots of St Michel of Normandy. During the Middle Ages Otterton Mill was one of the largest and most productive in Devon. During the middle of the 20th Century the Mill fell into disrepair. It was restored in 1977, and once again began producing the wholemeal flour for which Otterton is so famous. It is now by far the most productive watermill in Devon and the centre of a thriving complex of working buildings, all of which are open to visitors free of charge throughout the year.
We mill regularly using organic maris widgeon corn supplied by Tamarisk Farm, a family farm on the west Dorset Coast. |
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We are remarkably fortunate to have three fantastic "young" men who look after all our machinery at the Mill - Brian Hart, Allan Hunt and Jeremy Tottle. They also manage to find the time to mill our organic grain into some of the finest stoneground flour in the country. We came across them by accident, when they saw a feature on the Mill in a local newspaper and they asked if we needed any volunteers to help out around the place. "Oh yes", we said, and since that fortuitous moment they have become absolutely indispensable. Whenever they're around, milling or just chatting to visitors, everything somehow seems more real.
In the words of one of them, Brian Hart...
"As a group we met over ten years ago when we were working on preserving and running large, early 20th century steam engines. Whilst there we brought to life a large boiler that had fallen out of use (27 feet long and 7 feet in diameter). Our aim there, as it is now, was to preserve the past for the future. We have all been retired for several years and we volunteer our time willingly. It's strange that we live a long way apart but have become firm friends outside of our volunteer work. Amazingly we all have quite different skills and have come through life in totally different ways. Allan has spent time teaching, running a DIY shop and working in a hospital rehabilitation unit while Jerry spent all his life at sea as an engineer on large ships. I started as an engineer on a large farm and from there ended up teaching engineering for 20 years. Later in life I spent many years as a maintenance engineer in a factory. We also pursue different hobbies when not at the Mill. Our rewards come from a job well done and from meeting people who enjoy learning about the machinery we work with" |
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