Daniel's Mill
Daniels Mill is a watermill visible from the train as it crosses Oldbury Viaduct.
Its source of water is a mile-long stream from the Potseething Spring to the River Severn.[1] The earliest reference to a mill on the site dates back to the late 15th century. The buildings were substantially altered and enlarged during the 17th and 18th centuries. The present mill wheel on the north side is 39ft in diameter and was made in c. 1855 by The Coalbrookdale Company. It is made of both of cast and wrought-iron and drives three pairs of stones. It is perhaps the last of its type to have survived and is the largest waterwheel powering a corn mill still working in England today.[2] Although often referred to as Daniel's Mill its website and charity title omit the apostrophe.
The mill has been restored to working condition, and is open to the public. It has remained in family ownership for 300 years. It is operated by the Daniels Mill Trust, Charity No. 1123673, whose aim is to maintain and preserve the water mill for the public education & benefit.[3]
Alan George was a supporter of the railway and one of the founder members of the Severn Valley Railway Society. He and his wife Joyce Thomason took on the mill in 1958 after the death of her father who had been the previous owner/miller. After closure of the line, BR engineers intended to demolish Oldbury Viaduct but Mr George refused permission.[4] He continued milling until the 2010s when their eldest son Peter took over the bulk of the milling, with the aid of the Trust's volunteers. Alan George died in November 2017.[5]
Daniels Mill was damaged during the 2007 storms.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ Trinder, Barrie Stuart, The industrial archaeology of Shropshire, Phillimore (January 1996), p. 11
- ↑ DanielsMill.co.uk
- ↑ Daniels Mill Trust, Charities Commission webpage (Retrieved 21 February 2019)
- ↑ Marshall (1989) p. 104.
- ↑ Daniels Mill Facebook 9 December 2017 (Retrieved 3 January 2023)
- ↑ P&S Consulting Engineers website (Retrieved 29 December 2018)