Shelsley Watermill - VI

Another satisfying day working on the mill. Only four of us today as we pensioners take advantage of the late summer holiday offers and disappear to various destinations.

One pair spent the day digging mud and rubbish out of the gear-wheel pit inside the mill. The first sight of some of the brickwork inside the building is a bit scary, but it hasn’t fallen down yet! Working space in this pit is very cramped and I was grateful for my hard-hat on a number of occasions (every time I moved) when I ventured in to see what they had been up to. Some major timbers will need some TLC as well, and there are signs that damp penetration into the timber was always a problem.

At least the pit now drains freely to the outside world, which should slow down the deterioration a bit. The gear is now free to turn when we have re-mounted the wheel on its bearings.

The second pair working today concentrated on the base for the outside wheel bearing. All the rotten brickwork has been removed back to a sound foundation ready to start building the plinth back up.

As we had a few thousand gallons of water handy, washing the brickwork down was easy and spectacular even if we do have a puddle behind the plinth. As with everything else about the mill we had numerous discussions about the best way forward. Not because we don’t know what we are doing but so we can have a bit of a rest and get our breath back.