The Mills are Alive... 🌍

From the Press Release issued by the SPAB:

National Mills Weekend, 7th/8th May celebrates its 21st anniversary in 2005, with opportunities across the country for visitors and enthusiasts to appreciate the very best examples of Britain's milling heritage, and the loftiest!

The event is organised each year by the Mills Section of SPAB (the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings).

Involving more than 400 windmills and watermills nationwide, the 2005 weekend will include the giant of the mills world (the tallest in the country) opening to the public for the first time after an ambitious repair programme. This is the tower mill at Moulton in Lincolnshire, which featured in the first BBC series of Restoration.

More than 100 mills which are capable of producing flour, will be in action (wind permitting) dispelling the myths that wind power is either confined to the pages of history or is a new intrusion into the landscape! Some of the buildings taking part in the event are only open at this time, enabling National Mills Weekend to offer members of the public a unique insight into some of the country's best loved and most distinctive landmark structures.

A recent survey revealed that, after houses, windmills are the most popular subjects for children's drawings of buildings. Harnessing this enthusiasm and high recognition factor, this year National Mills Weekend is piloting a schools' project linking primary schools and their local mill.

Simon Hudson, SPAB Mills section, says: "From Blair Atholl in Scotland to St. Dominick in Cornwall, the mills are most definitely alive and this weekend will give everyone the opportunity to find out more. And, with the rising interest in organic foods and traditional production techniques there has never been a more appropriate or significant time for people to head for the mills!"