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Lyme Regis Town Mill History Project
Location: Dorset
A Thousand Years of Milling.
About the Town Mill. Lyme Regis
A ten-year restoration project to save the historic, but derelict, Town Mill in Lyme Regis was completed in 2001. Documentary evidence shows that the Town Mill has been on its present site since 1340. However, other records show there was probably an earlier watermill on the site in 1280 and the Domesday Book records one mill in Lyme in 1086. So this mill site could be a thousand years old.
The History Project
Although the Town Mill Trust had saved the fabric of the mill and its watermilling machinery in 2001, the trustees, together with friends and supporters of the mill, believed there was a need for a definitive and authoritative historical source from which to clarify and publicise the long history of the Town Mill. The Town Mill History Project was designed to achieve this.
The aim of the Town Mill History Project was to raise awareness of the historical, archaeological, economic and social heritage of the Town Mill and its impact on the lives of those in the area.
The project started early in 2003 and was expected to take about two years to complete. However, an unexpectedly large amount of historical records and data was uncovered by the development team and mill volunteers. The interpretation and collation of all this material took much longer than anticipated, with the result that the Town Mill History Project did not reach its very successful conclusion until early in 2006.
Development of the Project
The project, which was under the overall coordination of Town Mill Trustee Bob Eliot, was developed by a small team of archaeological, history and mill specialists, supported by groups of local volunteers. Information was gathered, collated and analysed for use in the development of a definitive history book, a more general history book of the mill, permanent history displays within the watermill, which is open to the public, leaflets, educational resources and interpretation materials, as well as research materials for graduate studies.
In addition to the history publications and educational displays, another group of mill volunteers concentrated on an Oral History of the Town Mill, based on memories of the mill in the early part of the twentieth century. About thirty residents of Lyme Regis were given the opportunity to volunteer and their reminiscences were distilled onto a CD with accompanying booklet.
Project Outcomes
Workshops. The first products of the project came in 2003 with a series of four workshops, led by the specialist team of archaeologist, historian and millwright. The free workshops were designed for the public and they were all fully subscribed. They succeeded in their aim of raising general awareness of the processes involved in gathering, interpreting and presenting historical information.
History Publications. The major history publications were completed and published in 2005. The definitive academic history and reference book is titled 'The Town Mill, Lyme Regis: Archaeology and History AD 1340-2000', by Alan Graham, Jo Draper and Martin Watts.
The more general history of the mill and how it works is titled 'A Thousand Years of Milling - The Town Mill, Lyme Regis', by Martin Watts.
Oral History. The Oral History CD, together with its accompanying booklet went on sale in 2006. This publication is titled 'Cheaper to re-roof than demolish', edited by Bridget Wilkins. The CD, whose title reflects one of the early arguments put forward during the initial efforts to save the derelict mill from its planned demolition in 1991, provides a fascinating insight into how local people remember the Town Mill in the early part of the twentieth century.
Permanent History Exhibit. A History/Education Exhibit (HEX) has been allocated a permanent display room in the Miller’s House. Ten display boards, plus archaeological finds from the mill site, provide historical information for visitors to the mill. The HEX display boards are portable, so they can be used in other parts of the mill or in outside locations as required for educational or presentational purposes.
Archive Material. Finally, archives have been established at the Town Mill. Copies of original papers on which the history books are based are kept in a steel file cabinet at the Town Mill. Contemporary records which will have archival value in the future are also stored in a steel filing cabinet at the mill. They are all available to researchers on request. The mini-discs on which the Oral History interviews were recorded and their accompanying archival scripts have been catalogued and are stored in the Lyme Regis Museum with other oral history archives already held by the museum.
Further Information
You can find more details about how the project progressed, how it achieved its aims and the information it has provided for the public in the other pages of this website. All of this was made possible by grants administered by the Local Heritage Initiative, the G F Eyres Charitable Trust and West Dorset District Council, for all of which grants the Town Mill Trustees are most grateful.
Group Name |
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Lyme Regis Town Mill Trust |
| Project Contact |
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Geoff Butler |
| Address |
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Lyme Regis |
| Project Postcode |
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DT7 3PU |
| Finishing Date |
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28/02/2006 |
| See also |
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Lyme Regis Town Mill Trust website |
| Grants: |
Heritage Lottery Fund: £24,983. G F Eyres Charitable Trust: £6,500. West Dorset District Council £250
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