Offers a traditional millwrighting service to both owners and
custodians of Britains wind and water-powered mills either individuals
or organisations.
Promotes the traditional methods, materials and techniques to repair the fabric of the countrys mills
Uses authentic methods to ensure high quality and sensitive repair of historically sensitive structures.
Offers an emergency call out service for urgent repairs for when the unexpected happens.
Provides information and assistance with projects from feasibility studies to practical repairs.
We operate within the SPAB philosophy of repair and our consultancy upholds the highest standards set by national organisations for the conservation of historic structures - these include English Heritage and the Mills Section of the Society for the Protection of ancient buildings.
Our repair and maintenance guidelines promote the use of traditional materials which exactly match those used in a mills original construction. Our repair guidelines are well practiced and have been put into practice at numerous mill sites in the UK with other companies following suit.
A mill is a combination of historic building and machine and should always be treated as such, the building which houses the machinery is generally incedantal, we generally promote the use of traditional materials in mill repair. These include:
Cast and wrought iron
Air-dried sustainable UK-grown hardwoods
High quality sustainable softwoods
Breathable lime-based mortars
Durable metal fixings such as brass and stainless steel
Microporous, oil-based paint systems
We strongly advise against the repair of historic structures using innapropriate modern materials as these often compromise the original construction and have no historical context. Materials which we would not recommend include:
Mild steel brackets and fixings
Low quality, unplaned timbers
Plastics
Cross-head screws and hexagonal-head bolts
Cement mortar
We can supply and repair/ rebuild all parts of the mill and its machinery, these can include both wooden and metal components. We are currently undertaking a complete rebuild of a windmill from a burned out shell. from little more than the ruined walls upwards. We can supply/re-make all parts either as a true copy from historical evidence or as best practice to enable the mill to work
Any size from large items such as windshafts and water wheel shrouds (rim segments) to small items such as sack hooks and wooden twist pegs or teeth.
Can supply wooden patterns, cast iron components and fabrications.
Can supply specialist timber for specific applications such as cogs, springs, bearings, and other specialist applications such as cart wrighting and carriage building.
Can offer a saw milling service (with our period rack bench), with logs converted up to 32 inches in dia. up to 30 feet long.
Our knowledge of the working practices of old-time, traditional millwrights, combined with the wealth of archival information available to us to promote the reinstatement of original design features which may have been lost through unsympathetic repairs of the recent past.