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Mill History Project - Background
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Town Mill History Project - Workshops
from Community News magazine
The Town Mill History Project - Organisation
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from Community News magazine
Location: Dorset
Lyme Regis Town Mill Project - An extract from an article about the LHI project published in Community News, the quarterly magazine of Dorset Community Action (issue 96, Winter 2003/04)
It took ten years to rescue and restore the ancient watermill in Lyme Regis, where milling was very much a part of the local life and economy for most of the last millennium. Closed down in the 1920s, its water wheel was removed in 1936 and the building had been derelict since the 1970s.
But thanks to the enthusiasm and efforts of a specially-formed Town Mill Trust, it has been back in full working order and open to visitors since 2001.
As well as the water-powered flour mill, the Town Mill complex now houses art galleries, a café/restaurant, craft studios and workshops, the Miller's garden, an environment exhibition about the River Lym, and a Mill Shop.
This year, interest in the mill has spread further and wider in the local community, as a project funded by the Countryside Agency’s Local Heritage Initiative scheme investigates and records the mill’s role in the history and heritage of the town.
With help and advice from a range of professionals, including millwright Martin Watts, historian Jo Draper, and archaeologist Alan Graham, local volunteers are contributing as archive document readers, academic assistants, data analysts, copy editors, and proof-readers.
Volunteers are also being trained to participate in an oral history project, enabling people with first hand experiences of the mill to record their memories, both on tape and in written transcripts.
The Town Mill History Project will use all this input to develop a variety of easily accessible sources of information and interpretation, including permanent displays within the watermill, books, leaflets and CDs.
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