This is a collection of audio from an open day at a restored mill in Stotfold, Bedfordshire. Fields surrounding the mill are cultivated using Victorian era steam machinery and the harvested wheat is then processed in the restored water mill closeby. The wheat is then sold to the public to provide futher funds to support the ongoing work there. The mill boasted the widest water wheel when it was in it’s heyday.
The recording is of three sections, outside steam driven threshing machine and bag hoists, inside the mill, and a short talk on dressing flour by someone actually working the mill.
Mill Interior, used by permission of the Stotfold Mill Preservation Trust
The sound of being inside a working mill like this is mesmoric, and wouldn’t be suprised if after you get used to the volume, is probably very comforting. When I was recording I was listening to the many patterns of mechanical noise and it was easy to keep spotting new ones as the ears and brain tuned into a different frequency or rhythm.
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More information about the Mill and the work of the Stotfold Mill Preservation Trust is availabe from their website.
