Stone-ground Flour by Natural Power - National Mills Weekend 2006

National Mills Weekend 2006 (May 13/14) celebrates the 75th anniversary of SPAB's Mills Section.

More than 80 Mills In UK Are Taking Part.

Wind and water are sustainable power sources, used for hundreds of years in Britain in the production of natural food. 2006 sees the 75th anniversary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) Mills Section and what better way to mark this landmark year in the battle to save some of the nation's most loved and evocative buildings than to celebrate their practicality along with their beauty?

SPAB's founder William Morris held that you should have nothing in your home that you do not know to be both beautiful and useful - a maxim that could easily apply to Britain's wind and watermills. There are currently more than 100 working mills capable of producing natural, stone ground flour and 100 of these will be open to the public during SPAB's 75th Anniversary National Mills Weekend - May 13th/14th 2006. In addition, over the weekend, a further 300 mills throughout the country will be welcoming visitors.

SPAB's Windmill Committee was formed in 1931 in response to an alarming decline in the numbers of the country's windmills. Later it included watermills within its interests, and it "encouraged the art of country milling". Still active today the SPAB is the only national amenity society dedicated to the protection of our milling heritage.

Some working mills are more than 300 years old yet still efficiently doing the job in the 21st century that they were built and designed for. Simon Hudson, SPAB?s Mills Section Secretary says:

What could be better or more sustainable than natural food made using a 100% environmentally friendly power source?

Many of the mills open in May are run by members of the Traditional Corn Millers Guild. The Guild was set up in 1987 to promote stone ground, wholemeal, oatmeal and other special flours to a wider public and continue the tradition of milling with stones.

A new publication: Stone Ground Flour - Where Can I Find It? gives information about where these products can be found. Listing mills from Cumbria to Kent and from Cornwall to Scotland, this publication is launched for National Mills Weekend 2006 and is available from the SPAB Mills Section and from participating mills.

Further details of National Mills Weekend are available from Simon Hudson, Mills Section Secretary, SPAB Mills Section, 37 Spital Square, London E1 6DY (0207 456 0909). e-mail millsinfo@spab.org.uk or visit to the website.