Part of our successful submission was the statement "By their efforts they have re-established a tradition of milling and millwrighting at Acorn Bank." Since then we have continued to develop our skills and increase our experience.
I was therefore very interested recently to discover the Heritage Crafts Association (President HRH The Prince of Wales) which publishes lists of endangered crafts. Millwrighting is listed as Critically Endangered (see https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/millwrighting/) as there are so few practitioners.
That means, as far as I can see, that we old volunteer millwrights are ourselves suitable subjects for preservation by the National Trust!
It would be good if us older people (69) were training younger people. I find it difficult to interest the Computer Generation :-( However, I started with no specific knowledge except basic woodwork and a background in Automotive Engineering (FTC from City & Guilds), yet guided by excellent books like Flour Manufacture by F Kick and some Common Sense, it was possible to restore the Watermill at Compagnes Drift in Bot River, Western Cape over a period of four years. So all is not lost! :-)
ReplyDeleteAgreed Kick's book "Flour Manufacture" is excellent, but difficult to find an original copy. I originally purchase a "print to order" reprint but found it did not include the pull-out drawings. Keep up the good work Andy. Nigel
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