STANWAY WATERMILL
Stanway Estate, established in the 8th century, is known to have had four watermills in 1291. They have been used over the centuries for fulling wool cloth, for paper production, for sawmilling, for electricity generation, to grind flour and to grind animal feed.
The mill in Church Stanway, now fully restored as a working flour mill, was re-opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2009. Its massive 24-foot overshot waterwheel, the 8th largest waterwheel in England, was made by local iron-masters James Savory of Tewkesbury ca.1850 and drives traditional cast-iron machinery and heavy French burr-quartz millstones, to produce stoneground Cotswold flour from wheat grown less than one mile from the mill on the Stanway Estate.
The Mill, situated 100 yards from Stanway House, is open to view at the same opening times as the house in June, July and August. Entrance tickets Adults £3, Children £2. Visitors may, during opening times, see the mill working, view the idyllic millpond, walk along the nearby Cotswold Way and buy a bag of wholemeal Cotswold flour.
The mill in Church Stanway, now fully restored as a working flour mill, was re-opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2009. Its massive 24-foot overshot waterwheel, the 8th largest waterwheel in England, was made by local iron-masters James Savory of Tewkesbury ca.1850 and drives traditional cast-iron machinery and heavy French burr-quartz millstones, to produce stoneground Cotswold flour from wheat grown less than one mile from the mill on the Stanway Estate.
The Mill, situated 100 yards from Stanway House, is open to view at the same opening times as the house in June, July and August. Entrance tickets Adults £3, Children £2. Visitors may, during opening times, see the mill working, view the idyllic millpond, walk along the nearby Cotswold Way and buy a bag of wholemeal Cotswold flour.
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VISITOR INFORMATION
Stanway Watermill is on the Stanway Estate which includes Stanway House, Gardens and Fountain. The mill is open to the public at the same times as Stanway House and a combined ticket can be purchased for all attractions.
OPEN DAYS
June, July and August: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2.00 to 5.00pm.
All other months: Thursdays 10.00am to 12.00pm
GENERAL INFORMATION
Organised parties and schools welcome throughout the year. (Please ask about the special charges for such visits.)
PRICES (on public open days)
Adults £3.00, Children £2.00.
DISABLED ACCESS
Because it is arranged on 3 floors with stairs but no lift, it is not suitable for wheelchairs.
DOGS
No dogs allowed inside the mill, but there is plenty of space outside.
COTSWOLD WAY
The mill is within 20 yards of the Cheltenham to Broadway section of the Cotswold Way National Trail.
OPEN DAYS
June, July and August: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2.00 to 5.00pm.
All other months: Thursdays 10.00am to 12.00pm
GENERAL INFORMATION
Organised parties and schools welcome throughout the year. (Please ask about the special charges for such visits.)
PRICES (on public open days)
Adults £3.00, Children £2.00.
DISABLED ACCESS
Because it is arranged on 3 floors with stairs but no lift, it is not suitable for wheelchairs.
DOGS
No dogs allowed inside the mill, but there is plenty of space outside.
COTSWOLD WAY
The mill is within 20 yards of the Cheltenham to Broadway section of the Cotswold Way National Trail.
HISTORY OF THE WATERMILL
In 1291 the Abbey of Tewkesbury was recorded as owning three corn mills and one fulling mill in the parish of Stanway, all powered by the stream rising in Lidcombe wood.
The uppermost mill had by 1635 changed from a corn mill to a papermill, one of the earliest recorded in the country. The pond for the next mill down the stream still survives as the “Post Office Pond”, although all traces of a building have gone.
A building for the lowest, fourth mill on the stream survives, but withoug machinery or millpond.
However the third water mill, located in Church Stanway village, is very much alive and kicking. This mill was originally a fulling mill. Fulling was the process of beating and scouring with fullers’ earth cloth that had been woven from the local sheep wool.
When the cloth industry died out towards the end of the 17th century, this mill was converted to grind corn. In the mid 19th century a new, 24-foot diameter cast-iron waterwheel, made in Tewkesbury by James Savory, was installed and then the mill became the estate saw mill, processing timber from the surrounding area. A large circular saw,powered by an underground drive taken from the waterwheel was positioned outside the mill under a veranda. In 1913 a generator was added, so that the waterwheel could provide electric power to Church Stanway village.
The watermill fell into disuse in the 1950’s, all the machinery except the waterwheel was ripped out, the pond was filled in, and the building was modified to accommodate a number of craft workshops.
From 2002 the mill was restored as a corn mill by Chris Wallis and Dave Empringham and others, and was re-opened by the Prince of Wales on 30 October 2009. The waterwheel was provided with new galvanised steel buckets, the pond excavated and a complete set of cast iron and wooden machinery manufactured and fitted. New grain bins, a sack hoist, a flour elevator and a 3-grade flour-sieve, all water driven, have been installed. Wholemeal and sifted flour is now produced with a pair of French burr stones.
Thanks to the determination of the present Earl of Wemyss and the highly skilled team of millwrights, we now have a fully-operational restored watermill in Stanway which the public are able to visit and watch working.
The uppermost mill had by 1635 changed from a corn mill to a papermill, one of the earliest recorded in the country. The pond for the next mill down the stream still survives as the “Post Office Pond”, although all traces of a building have gone.
A building for the lowest, fourth mill on the stream survives, but withoug machinery or millpond.
However the third water mill, located in Church Stanway village, is very much alive and kicking. This mill was originally a fulling mill. Fulling was the process of beating and scouring with fullers’ earth cloth that had been woven from the local sheep wool.
When the cloth industry died out towards the end of the 17th century, this mill was converted to grind corn. In the mid 19th century a new, 24-foot diameter cast-iron waterwheel, made in Tewkesbury by James Savory, was installed and then the mill became the estate saw mill, processing timber from the surrounding area. A large circular saw,powered by an underground drive taken from the waterwheel was positioned outside the mill under a veranda. In 1913 a generator was added, so that the waterwheel could provide electric power to Church Stanway village.
The watermill fell into disuse in the 1950’s, all the machinery except the waterwheel was ripped out, the pond was filled in, and the building was modified to accommodate a number of craft workshops.
From 2002 the mill was restored as a corn mill by Chris Wallis and Dave Empringham and others, and was re-opened by the Prince of Wales on 30 October 2009. The waterwheel was provided with new galvanised steel buckets, the pond excavated and a complete set of cast iron and wooden machinery manufactured and fitted. New grain bins, a sack hoist, a flour elevator and a 3-grade flour-sieve, all water driven, have been installed. Wholemeal and sifted flour is now produced with a pair of French burr stones.
Thanks to the determination of the present Earl of Wemyss and the highly skilled team of millwrights, we now have a fully-operational restored watermill in Stanway which the public are able to visit and watch working.
