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Crabble Corn

Mill

By Stephen Scoffham

with later revisions by Paul Jarvis

Crabble Corn Mill

A Resource Book for Teachers

One of Europe’s finest working watermills

Contents 1 Planning Your Visit ..................................................................................................................... 2

2 Preparing For Your Visit ............................................................................................................. 4

3 Taking Your Class to Crabble Corn Mill ..................................................................................... 5

4 Study Themes ............................................................................................................................. 7

5 Activity Sheets .......................................................................................................................... 28

6. Documents ............................................................................................................................... 41

7. Other References ..................................................................................................................... 45

1 Planning Your Visit

What is Crabble Corn Mill? Crabble Corn Mill is a large Victorian corn mill situated on the banks of the River Dour a few kilometres upstream from Dover. It was built c1812 to supply troops garrisoned in the area during the Napoleonic War. After their departure following the Battle of Waterloo the mill found a new role providing flour for the London market. It was finally driven out of production in 1893 by competition from steam driven roller mills. In 1988 in was acquired by Crabble Corn Mill Trust who have restored the mill to working order and put it on view to the general public.

Why visit Crabble Corn Mill? As well as being a fine building in its own right, the mill contains a full set of working machinery frozen in time in the last decade of the nineteenth century. It is believed to be unique in this country and is one of the best examples of its type in Europe. For those who are interested in intermediate technology the mill is of unparalleled importance, but its significance is more than purely historical. The machines and mechanisms at Crabble illustrate how the people of the past worked alongside the forces of nature, instead of dominating them as we do today. At a time when the problems of pollution and the search for renewable energy sources are matters of growing concern, there is much we can learn from the mill.

Visiting Crabble Corn Mill. Parties of visitors are welcome to have guided tours of the mill at any time by prior arrangement. It is necessary to indicate how many will be in the party so that an adequate number of guides and other facilities can be arranged. Individuals or small family groups can visit the mill at any time it is open and will be able to guide themselves with tour information on guide sheets. Guides, if available at the mill, can be engaged if desired.

What do visitors see at the mill? Organised parties of visitors will be guided to all parts of the mill, examining the machinery, some of which may be seen turning. The tour will normally finish by watching the mill grinding to make wholemeal flour; the minimum tour time being 1¾ hours. For parties in excess of 30 an additional ¼ hour will be needed. If more time is available, the tour may include a showing of the mill video, giving the history of the mill and its machinery in action (15 minutes). Visitors may also visit the shop where souvenirs, flour etc., are available. It may be possible for visitors to use the café to eat sandwiches provided that arrangements are agreed prior to the visit. The café has a number of models showing how waterpower has been used to carry out a wide range of jobs.

Are there any special educational services? The mill has a range of hands-on bygones which, while not specifically related to milling, are of the period when the mill would have been working and contribute to the better understanding of the social circumstances of the time.

What other facilities are available? There is a car park for cars or minibuses opposite the mill, but coaches are asked to park in nearby Lewisham Road, which is a short walk across the recreation ground. Toilets are available on site and lunch may be eaten in the café, at off peak times, as long as space is reserved at the time of booking.

In good weather, however, teachers may prefer to take their classes outside. There are no special facilities for the disabled.

How do I book? Booking forms can be obtained from the mill or you can book by phoning on 01304 823292. The mill is open every day for parties booked in advance. Please note that school parties can only make use of the educational facilities if booked in advance and teachers are strongly advised to visit the mill beforehand. A complimentary ticket is supplied on request and all adults accompanying school parties are given free entry. In view of the nature of the machinery the suggested minimum adult/pupil ratio is ten to one.

2 Preparing For Your Visit

Visit the Mill The best way of preparing for your visit is to come and see the mill beforehand. This will greatly increase your understanding of the building and enable you to select suitable work for your class. There is no charge for teachers making a preliminary visit as long as it is arranged at the same time as the booking. This will also be a good opportunity to obtain extra information from the gift shop.

Find out more about mills It is useful to read about the subject of mills and milling in order to place the visit in a wider context. Water power technology, for example, evolved from the invention of the wheel many thousands of years ago and has culminated in the modern water turbine. The role of the mill as a source of food raises questions about the history of agriculture, nutritional standards and the distribution of resources. Your local schools’ library service will be able to supply books and other material on these and other topics as long as you place an order well in advance.

Prepare the class Crabble Corn Mill is a complicated machine but the principles on which it works can be readily appreciated by children of junior school age and upwards as long as they are suitably prepared. Above all else they need some knowledge of simple machines such as levers, gears and pulleys. You could look for examples in the home and school environment and set up experiments to find out more about different types of forces. You might also find it useful to visit one of the specialist museums in your area. The Science Museum in London and the Exploratory at Bristol, for example, have excellent interactive displays illustrating scientific ideas.

Aims and objectives A visit to the mill can be used to support many different aspects of the curriculum. The box below shows some of the possibilities. The best results are obtained either when the visit is part of a project which has already been started, or when it is used as the stimulus for sustained follow-up. In both cases it is important to determine the aims and objectives beforehand and to be clear how they link in with the teaching policy of your school.

Subject Attainment Target English Speaking and listening/writing Mathematics Shape and space Science Physical processes Technology Identifying needs and opportunities Geography Human geography History Use of historical resources

3 Taking Your Class to Crabble Corn Mill

Visit the mill o Decide on your aims and objectives o Consider how the work relates to the National Curriculum o Think about how it relates to your school teaching policy

Arrange your visit o Make a booking o Arrange transport and calculate costs o Send information home to parents o Invite parents and other adults to come as helpers o Decide what equipment to take with you

Prepare yourself o Read Teacher’s Resource Book o Learn more about mills and waterpower o Order supporting books, films and materials

Prepare the class o Teach the children about levers, gears and pulleys o Use selected classwork sheets

Making the visit o Use the quiz on the coach or train o Complete the trail sheets after touring the mill o Undertake related practical activities in the study area

Follow-up work o Discuss the visit o Develop specific themes using the classwork sheets o Refer to documents in the Teacher’s Resource Book o Use the Information Sheets and other Crabble Corn Mill publications o Visit other related sites

Assessment o Assess visit against original aims and objectives o Note any unexpected outcomes o Modify the programme of work for future occasions o Display and present the work at school

What other sites can I visit in the area? The mill occupies a pleasant site in a quiet suburb of Dover. The river is the main attraction in the immediate locality and can be used for a range of investigative activities. About one kilometre upstream there is an attractive park - Kearsney Abbey. In the opposite direction down the valley there are a number of other modern watermills which will be featured in the Dour Valley Trail. In Dover itself, the Castle, White Cliffs Experience, Museum, Old Town Gaol and Roman Painted House are the main attractions. While it may seem useful to combine a visit to Crabble Corn Mill with one or other

of these sites, teachers are strongly advised not to be overambitious. Experience indicates it is much better to make two separate visits than to plan too much for one day.

Useful Addresses

Crabble Corn Mill, Lower Road. River, Dover CT17 0UY 01304 823292

Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Exhibition Market Square Dover CT16 1PB 01304 201066

Dover Castle Dover CT16 1HU 01304 201628

Old Town Gaol Maison Dieu Biggin Street Dover CT16 1DQ 01304 201200

Roman Painted House New Street Dover CT16 9AJ 01304 203279

White Cliffs Experience Market Square Dover CT16 1PB 01304 214566

4 Study Themes 4.1 The Mill Story

4.2 Flour Milling

4.3 Machines and Mechanisms

4.4 Water Power Technology

4.5 Wheat

4.6 Mill Architecture

4.7 The Mill Pond

4.8 Restoring the Mill

4.1 The Mill Story It seems likely that there has been a mill at Crabble since the Middle Ages. The earliest known reference dates from 1227 when Henry III gave the Abbey of St. Radigund’s “the site of the mill called Crabbehole” from which it received twenty shillings a year in rent. (one shilling is 5p.) In view of the pressure on suitable locations, it seems likely that once occupied the site would have remained in more less continuous use. Although much of its history is obscure, we know that by the eighteenth century the mill had passed into the ownership of the Pilcher family. They ran a small business with just enough capacity for local needs. The present mill was put up by them alongside this earlier structure in 1812. It was one of a series of mills built along the River Dour to cater for troops stationed in the area during the Napoleonic war. Originally the mill was equipped with a kiln to dry damp wheat, store houses and stables. It was run by a staff of three people, the miller and two “boys”. In addition, there would have been staff bringing wheat to the mill and making flour etc. deliveries. Regular visitors included the stone dresser, millwright and rat catcher Occasionally items in the local newspaper record unusual events. There were two tragic accidents in the first decades of the nineteenth century when both the miller’s sons were killed. In another incident a farm servant became entangled with the hoist gear and was lifted to the top of the mill suspended by his thumb. Miraculously it is recorded “he sustained no injury whatever”. When the troops were disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo (1815), Crabble Corn Mill fell on hard times. It was eventually acquired in the early 1840’s by a Victorian entrepreneur, Willsher Mannering, who realised that the growth of London was providing valuable markets for flour. Over a period of some thirty years he purchased four of the large mills along the Dour, from which he made regular shipments to the capital by coastal traders. During the 1850’s and 1860’s trade flourished. By this time, however, new technology was beginning to cause major changes. In the 1870’s the Mannerings fitted Crabble Corn Mill with new sifting and processing machinery in an endeavour to keep up to date. The final challenge came soon afterwards with the invention of high-speed roller milling. This swept the market by producing an extremely fine white flour of the kind that was in fashion at the time. The Mannerings responded by concentrating production at one of their other mills (Lower Buckland) and Crabble was put out of business, finally closing in 1893. Fortunately the mill continued to be useful as a storage depot, so it received basic maintenance until the Mannering’s business finally folded in 1957. After this the building fell into increasingly bad repair. After much negotiation it was finally saved from total collapse and restored by a local philanthropist, Mr Fred Cleary, in 1972.

The present mill was built alongside a much older structure, the tail race of which can be seen opposite the entrance area.

In the event, the reprieve was short lived. Within ten years the structure was again showing signs of weakness and was declared unsafe. This time the negotiations were even more protracted, culminating in a decision by the local council to proceed with demolition. However, the mill was saved in the nick of time and passed into the hands of the Crabble Corn Mill Trust. It is now completely safe and has been open to public as a working mill since 1990.

Study Ideas 1. Drama is one of the best ways of bringing the story

of the mill to life. The various extracts from the local newspaper in the documents section provide basic information from which pupils can reconstruct selected scenes. If you divide the class into groups you might be able to record what happens on video film or audio tape.

2. You could also consider the more general questions of safety and working conditions. Until 1902 mills were not governed by any regulations. Why were they necessary? What safety precautions can you see in the mill nowadays? Extend the idea by asking the children to make their own safety posters both for the mill and their own school or class environment.

3. There are many children’s stories which involve mills and millers (see bibliography). You might read these with the class and get them to devise their own mill stories. This is particularly relevant as a follow-up idea when children will be able to draw on the experience of their visit and reinterpret it imaginatively.

Crabble is an ancient name, and almost certainly means "the place where apples were grown". It appears in old English as "Crabble Hol" (Hol means lying in a hollow.) Other forms include Crabwell and Crabblewell, suggesting a source of water. The river is, of course, the River Dour which gives its name to the nearby town of Dover.

The Rat Catcher and his Wife, played by members of the Dover Operatic and Dramatic Society for a Halloween Special, 1999

The Story of The Mill Technological Developments

National Events

1800

1810 1812: New mill opened at Crabble by Webb & Pilcher. 1818: Miller’s four-year-old son killed in accident.

1810: Steamboats. 1815: Battle of Waterloo.

1820 1820’s: Augers and elevators installed.

1820’s: Electrical generators. 1824: Poncelet undershot water wheel.

1830 1830’s: Annex added. New water wheel.

1830’s: Mechanical reaper. First railways

1832: Reform Act. 1837: Queen Victoria. 1839-42: Opium Wars.

1840 1843: Willsher Mannering buys mill with the view of supplying flour to London.

1840’s: Turbines applied to water mills.

1846: Corn Laws repealed.

1850 1854-56: Crimean War. 1857: Indian Mutiny.

1860 1860’s: Mill at peak of prosperity

1860’s: Chemicals, explosives, electric dynamos and trams.

1870 1870’s: New sifting and flour processing machinery installed. New waterwheel, regulators and transmission system.

1870’s: Telephones, telegraphs and internal combustion engine.

1870: Franco-Prussian War.

1880 1880’s: Eureka Smut Machine fitted.

1880’s: Electric motors, roller milling.

1880’s: Scramble for Africa.

1890 1890’s: Motor cars. 1895: Wireless

1899-1902: Boer War

1900 1893: Mill closed for business.

4.2 Flour Milling Crabble Corn Mill is a sophisticated and complicated Victorian machine which harnesses the power of a small downland stream to drive all the equipment needed in flour milling. The system is largely automatic so that the miller does not have to handle grain as it passes from one machine to the next. This design, which may well have been inspired by developments in the United States, cut production costs by as much as fifty per cent.

Turning grain into flour is a complicated business. It involves three main processes - cleaning, milling and sifting. Had these all been arranged on top of each other Crabble Corn Mill would have been as tall as a small skyscraper. Instead, the equipment is positioned so that the grain threads its way up and down, passing the same level several times on its journey through the building. In this way the available space is used to the best advantage and the power of the wheel is supplemented by the pull of gravity.

Cleaning When corn was delivered to the mill it was either dried in the nearby kiln houses or winched directly to the top level. Here it was poured into dirty grain bins. Metal grills removed sticks, stones and other large objects which would damage the machinery. When convenient the miller would carry out the cleaning process by feeding the corn into a machine known as a smutter. This removes pieces of

Flour Milling Diagram Sacks of grain were winched to the top level where they were stored before cleaning, milling and separating.

straw, chaff and foreign seeds from the wheat. It was also able to remove any fungus (particularly poisonous Ergot) from the wheat. The grain passes through a drum in which a rapidly rotating beater detaches anything adhering to the grains and a draught from a fan separate the cleaned wheat from the debris, which was blown through a duct into the river.

Milling When it was needed, the corn was fed into a hopper above each set of mill stones. From here it trickled slowly down a vibrating chute before falling into the eye of the stones where it was ground into wholemeal flour. The process also produced a certain amount of flour dust. This was sucked up a tube to a special room so that the miller did not breathe it. Flour dust can also be highly explosive!

Separating In Victorian times people wanted a finely sifted white flour. In order to obtain this Crabble Corn Mill is fitted with a whole range of sifting and separating machines. The most important of these are the silk reels on the fourth and fifth levels which act as giant sieves and separate the bran from the flour. Other machines (the bran duster and plan sifter) clean the bran still further and separate it into different grades. Once separated the produce is stored to await bagging. This was the first time it needed to be handled since being poured into the dirty grain bin at the start of the process.

Study Ideas 1. Make a collection of grains and other common edible seeds. How many can the children

identify? Can they add any other examples of their own, or provide “seed” recipes? You could develop the work by conducting seed experiments. Which ones germinate first, grow fastest, and grow tallest? Get the class to cut some seeds open and see if they can identify the different elements.

2. Consider the importance of flour in our daily lives. Ask the pupils to keep a diary of all the food they eat in a day. Investigate the ingredients and underline any items that contain flour. Discuss the indirect ways that we consume wheat. i.e. by eating eggs from chickens which are fed grain. Is there any food that doesn’t come from the soil in some way or other?

3. Think about the creatures that might live in the mill - mice, rats and cats are the obvious examples. Ask the children to make up an illustrated story about the adventures that might happen to one of them. Stories like the “Church Mice” by Graham Oakley might provide inspiration.

Corn is a composite term for all forms of grain. In Britain the chief of these are wheat, barley, oats and rye. The structure of different types of grain is basically similar consisting of:-

i. the germ which eventually develops into a new plant.

ii. the white endosperm which provides starch for the plant to grow.

iii. the brown bran which protects the seed.

Bagging and Weighing

4.3 Machines and Mechanisms

Crabble Corn Mill is driven by the River Dour, a small stream about eight kilometres in length. Water from the river is stored in the mill pond which acts as an energy storehouse. From here it either flows freely downstream or is directed onto the water wheel. This system provides enough power to operate the mill throughout the working day. The wheel at Crabble is an impressive mechanism nearly six metres in diameter and with sixty-eight paddles. It is of the breast shot type which means that water is fed onto it at the midpoint. Power from the water wheel is then transmitted horizontally along an axle, turned through ninety degrees by two bevel gears and distributed to the mill machinery via an upright shaft. Heavy machines, such as the mill stones, are situated as close to the shaft as possible and driven by gears. Auxiliary machines are often located at greater distances and driven by belts and pulleys. The drive system itself is controlled by a regulator which ensures that it runs at an even speed. This is an unusual feature and may well date from the 1830’s when we think the present system was installed.

The Transmission System Power from the water wheel drives all the milling machinery

The sifter on level 4 should be a parallel one, not tapered as shown here.

Most of the space inside the mill is taken up by machinery. This was upgraded to keep abreast of new developments till the eventual demise of the mill in the 1890’s.

Hoist. Lifts sacks of grain to the top floor, using either external or internal winding gear. Can be operated by a pulley connected to a beam suspended from the ceiling.

Smutter. Removes pieces of straw, chaff and foreign seeds from the wheat. Also able to remove any fungus (particularly poisonous Ergot) from the wheat. The grain passes through a drum in which a rapidly rotating beater detaches anything adhering to the grains and a draught from a fan separates the cleaned wheat from the debris, which was blown through a duct into the river.

Hopper and Feed Shoe. Designed to provide the mill stones with a steady trickle of grain. Operated by a spindle (damsel) with cams on its sides which causes the shoe to vibrate.

Mill Stones. Made of a particularly hard-wearing quartz known as French Burr and cut with a pattern of grooves (furrows). Grain is fed into the ey of the stones where it is first sheared and then crushed as it works its way outwards under centrifugal force and the action of the furrows.

Aspirator. Removes flour dust and keeps the mill stones cool. Works rather like a vacuum cleaner with a fan sucking dust into a large hessian cage.

Silk Reels. Consist of large hexagonal frames covered in silk. As the frame rotates, the white flour drops through the silk leaving the bran behind.

Bran Duster. Brushes rotate at high speed to throw the bran against a fine metal mesh. Flour particles removed from the bran pass through the mesh.

Plan Sifter. Grades the bran prior to bagging. Consists of a box suspended by leather straps which is oscillated by means of a crankshaft. This action causes the bran to pass over or through a coarse sieve mesh to separate out the coarse bran and a finer mesh sieve to separate the medium bran from the fine bran.

Conveyor. Carries the produce from one machine to the next. Horizontal journeys are effected by augers (Archimedean screws), vertical journeys by elevators.

Weighing Scales. Able to handle weights of over 100 Kg and accurate to within two grams. Consists of a beam suspended from the ceiling on a pivot with weighing pans attached at either end.

Study Themes 1. Introduce the idea of gears and pulleys by making a survey of machines in the everyday

environment. Hand drills and whisks use gears to torn motion through ninety degrees. Tape cassettes illustrate the idea of a pulley and drive belt in a familiar contest. A bicycle combines a number of different mechanical principles.

2. Challenge the class with some open-ended tasks in design and technology. For example, can they design and make a machine that uses gears to perform a task? Alternatively can they design and make an alarm that uses a hand bell, or a crane that will lift a weight? These exercises will introduce them to the principles on which machines at Crabble are based.

3. You might decide to make a detailed study of one of the mill machines. The weighing scales are a good example of the use of a fulcrum and lever, the elevator is worked by a pulley, and the plan sifter depends on gravity and vibration.

The Stepover gears which connect the first and second vertical shafts. Shown here disengaged, so that no machinery on the upper levels will work.

4.4 Water Power Technology The earliest watermills originated in Roman times. The first known reference occurs in an epigram written by Antipater of Thessalonica in about 85 BC. Some twenty years later Strabo records the existence of a water mill in the palace of the Kings of Pontus on the southern shores of the Black Sea where it aroused the wonder of the conquering troops. In Britain the earliest water mill found was probably at Ickham, near Canterbury, and dates from the second century AD.

There are two main types of water mill. In the simplest mechanism the wheel is mounted horizontally on a vertical spindle and caused to rotate by a jet of water directed to the paddles on one side of the wheel. As the water knocks against the paddles the force turns the wheel and thus operates the stones. This is known as

the Greek Mill. An alternative was to set the wheel vertically in the water and to transmit the power to the stones though a system of gears. Both systems have their advantages and, despite much speculation, there is no firm evidence as to which came first.

From Roman times until the late middle ages water power was used in Europe almost exclusively for milling corn. Domesday Book records over five thousand mills alone in the area of Britain south of the River Trent. From the eleventh century onwards tide mills were also established around the coast to harness the power of the sea. When the windmill was invented about a century later it quickly spread to those areas of the country without streams or good access to water power. As demand grew ever more intense so the number of mills increased until there was an average of one for every fifty households.

With the development of medieval industry, water power was gradually applied to other processes. By making the top mill stone into an edge runner by turning it on edge, mills were adapted to crush metal ore, paint pigment and foodstuffs. Another innovation was the use of cams (small projections on an axle) to trip hammers. This heralded new developments in metal beating and cloth fulling. Finally the use of cranks (a shaft with a kinked section) made it possible to use mills to provide reciprocal (back and forth) motion. This was especially important in mainland Europe where pumps were needed to drain mines.

This Byzantine mosaic is the earliest known representation of a mill.

Further changes occurred in the eighteenth century when engineers such as Fairburn and Smeaton conducted scientific experiments to improve the efficiency of the water wheel. The French took a particularly important part in this research, pioneering a series of studies which eventually led to the discovery of the water turbine. With these refinements water power proved capable of holding its own against the steam engine until comparatively recently. Even as late as 1870, for example, there were more water wheels than steam engines used in manufacturing in the United States.

Nowadays, although the era of the water mill has passed, water turbines still play an important part in providing energy. They have the great advantage of harnessing sustainable sources of power. It seems likely that as people recognise the value of ‘alternative’ energy, water power will take on a new significance.

Study Ideas 1. Make a survey of the ways that wheels are used

in the classroom and school building. Try and sort the examples into sets. One suitable heading would be transport. How would it affect us if wheels had never been invented? See if the pupils can think of alternative ways of doing some of the tasks that wheels currently perform.

2. Get the children to think imaginatively about the possibilities of water power. Can they design a water clock? Would it be possible to have a water powered car? Ask them to make plans showing their ideas.

There are three main types of water wheel. In the undershot system the wheel is driven by the kinetic energy (velocity) of water as it passes below, or under the axle. By contrast, in the overshot system the water is fed into buckets at the top of the wheel and drops to the bottom by the force of gravity. The same principle is used in the breastshot system, where water strikes the wheel at the midpoint, thereby generating less energy by needing a small fall. The choice of which variety of water wheel and the size to use is complex but is influenced by:- 1. The quantity of water flowing in the stream. 2. The "fall", which is the difference in height between the level of water which can be brought to the wheel, and the level which allows the water to drain away from the wheel. 3. The amount of power which the water wheel is required to produce.

Overshot Pitchback

Breastshot Undershot

4.5 Wheat Wheat is the world’s most important food crop. It can tolerate a wide range of climates ranging from the equatorial to the polar but does best in temperate zones. Here it provides the staple food for over forty countries including the Russian Federation and many parts of southern Europe and the Middle East.

Wheat is a hybrid formed from goat grasses and was known to have been grown around Jericho in about 8500 BC. Although it can occur in the wild, the seeds are so heavy that they are unable to spread without human intervention. The needs of cultivation, therefore, prompted the development of settled agriculture which, in turn, led to the development of towns and cities.

There are two main ways of growing wheat. In milder regions, such as southern England, the seeds can be planted in the autumn so that they can take full advantage of warmer weather in the spring. This is known as winter wheat. In other regions, where the winters are more severe, the seeds are planted in the spring (spring wheat). The resulting grain is generally harder and particularly suitable for bread making.

Since the 1960’s new strains of wheat have been developed and yields have increased dramatically. These new varieties, better irrigation and the use of chemicals and fertilisers have contributed to what is known as the Green Revolution. This has had a major impact in Third World countries saving many people from famine, especially in Asia. In Western Europe, however, the benefits have been less marked. Here European Community policies have stimulated over production.

Over the last few decades there has also been grown concern about the safety of modern agricultural methods. For example, wheat is sprayed with fungicides which have been linked to cancer, and enriched with fertilisers which can damage the environment and ultimately pollute ground water supplies. In addition, the widespread removal of hedgerows and the creation of larger fields in arable areas is causing serious habitat loss and leading to soil erosion.

Wheat has been closely associated with human history since the earliest times. Originally the needs of agriculture prompted the development of primitive technology such as the harness and plough. Nowadays, despite modern electronics, we are increasingly aware that we still depend on complex ecological processes. One tiny seed, wheat, exemplifies this link.

Reaping and harvesting wheat in ancient Egypt.

There are many different ways of eating wheat. These include: Couscous A porridge or gruel which

is popular in North Africa. Bulgar Boiled, cracked wheat. Pasta Particles of wheat turned

into a shaped dough. Chapattis Pancakes made from flour,

salt and water. Bread A mixture of flour, salt and

water to which yeast is sometimes added.

On average in Britain we each consume three quarters of a kilogram of bread per week. In addition, flour is a major ingredient in processed foods such as breakfast cereals, biscuits and cakes.

Study Ideas 1. Find out more about wheat. Where is it grown in Britain? Which other countries of the

world are major producers? How is it harvested? You might also collect newspaper articles about the more general theme of food and hunger. Oxfam, the Centre for World Development Education and other agencies produce valuable information sheets.

2. If you have access to a school cooker, you could get the children to bake rolls or loaves of bread. Even young children are able to achieve impressive results. The exercise also provides a valuable opportunity to observe the action of yeast. You might experiment with different bread flour. Which type gives the best results? Can the children devise a “fair” test?

3. Investigate how long a loaf of bread will keep before going mouldy. What factors affect its keeping properties? Does sliced bread keep better than unsliced? Does it matter if it is dirty? What is the effect of moisture and heat?

4. You could set up some “wheat” experiments. Challenge the children to find the weight of an individual grain. How does the weight alter when it is soaked or dried on a heater? Can the pupils think up a question of their own to investigate and find ways of recording the results?

World Calorie Consumption

4.6 Mill Architecture Most watermills are attractive buildings. They occupy scenic sites on the banks of streams and rivers and blend harmoniously with their surroundings. The vast majority belong to the vernacular period of architecture (mid-nineteenth century or earlier) which means they were built by craftsmen from local materials in a distinctive regional style.

For centuries watermills were the only large-scale machines in common use and they have been widely celebrated in art and literature. The earliest picture is a fourth century mosaic found in the ruins of the Great Palace of Byzantium at Istanbul. It shows a large undershot wheel attached to a small shed with a pitched roof. The fourteenth century Luttrell Psalter presents a similar unsophisticated image.

Most of the mills which have survived to the present day date from the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. These are much larger structures with storage space and outbuildings and often form small industrial complexes. Crabble Corn Mill is typical of this period.

The mill is a six-storey weather-boarded structure set on a square brick base. Originally there was a kiln, stables and workshops alongside but these have now been demolished or converted. There is a large iron breastshot wheel on the south-west face. On the opposite side, to the north-east, a narrow weir provides an overflow from the mill pond. The setting was, until recently, largely rural.

Study Ideas 1. Consider some of the design problems faced by the builders. Can the children make a

working model of a sash window or a pair of shutters? Experiment with making arches and spanning gaps with bricks. Find out more about different types of brick bond and make models to show how the walls are constructed.

2. Make a survey of buildings in your locality. Record the key features such as the shape of the roof (hipped or gabled), form of the windows (sash or casement) and the materials used for the walls. Does any pattern emerge and can you explain this?

3. Make an “odd” guide of any interesting or unusual architectural details in your school or immediate environment. See if other children or parents can identify them. You could use drawings, photographs, poems or any “clues” that seem appropriate.

All buildings are a solution to a design problem. Some of the features at Crabble are particularly noteworthy:- The lower levels of the mill are of

brick to withstand the forces and vibration from the grinding machinery. The upper levels being of wood, which is both traditional for the area and of economic design to contain flour sifting machinery etc., and storage bins.

The roof is set at a shallow angle to avoid adding extra height and weight to the building.

The window arches are made of shaped bricks which span the gap without weakening the structure unnecessarily.

Medieval water mill from the Luttrell Psalter showing eel traps

Crabble Corn Mill Crabble Corn Mill is designed as a simple “industrial” building.

4.7 The Mill Pond There may well have been a natural widening of the river at Crabble which explains why the site has been favoured by mills. However, at some point in the past the river was dammed, deepened and lined to create a pond. The present mill, being much larger than its predecessors, required a more extensive system of water courses and channels. These have survived more or less intact to the present day.

The river flows to the waterwheel, being controlled by a sluice gate. When the waterwheel is not taking all of the river’s flow, the surplus water passes into the millpond and escapes over the “W” shaped spillway and past the other side of the mill. The unusual shape of the spillway is designed to minimise the level rise in the pond when the river flow increases.

When the mill was working commercially, sluice gates a little way upstream (now gone) restricted the flow from the river into the millpond, raising the level in the river. This allowed the wheel’s buckets to be completely filled, to produce maximum power when driving four pairs of millstones.

The millpond is rich in natural life. It supports a good range of aquatic insects as well as fish such as trout. Mallards, mute swans, moorhens and coots nest in the area. Other visiting water birds include little grebe, ruddy shelduck, pochard and grey wagtail.

Plant life, too, flourishes in the riverside environment. Common reed and yellow flag are found in large numbers, with starwort occurring in places. The bypass sluice provides an ideal habitat for aquatic moss and harts tongue fern. Elsewhere trees have established themselves on the banks and on the bund separating the pond from the river.

Before the Trust acquired the mill, the local Council agreed to repair the dam to stop water leaking into neighbouring properties. More limited excavations were also needed at a later stage when it was discovered that underground springs had undermined the south-west wall of the mill.

Another worry concerned the quality of the water. Many feared that, as the pond had become stagnant, there would be a build-up of nitrates and phosphates from gardens along the banks. Happily a survey by local naturalists revealed that concentrations were actually quite low. The quality of the environment was affirmed in a more dramatic way soon afterwards with the discovery of an eel sixty centimetres long.

In restoring the pond the Trust’s first job was to clear out the rubbish that had accumulated over the years. Other work included rebuilding the banks and transplanting bulbs and flowers. Some sycamore saplings were also removed. These were self-sown and had suffered badly in the 1987 hurricane. They also blocked the view of the mill from the road. They were replaced with natural varieties, such as willows, which are much more suitable being native wetland species with deep root systems. The local primary school donated six saplings. A crab apple tree was also planted by the Chairman of the Council in honour of the ancient name of the district.

The pond was cleaned and new plants put in between 1988 and 1990.

The banks of the pond have been rebuilt using traditional methods. Live willow fronds were woven between stakes to form a retaining wall and earth filled in behind. The cuttings are then able to take root to form a living structure. Under normal circumstances this will last at least twenty years without maintenance.

Study Ideas 1. Make paintings or sketches of a waterside

environment in your own locality. You could use a variety of different media such as pencil, charcoal and watercolour paints. See if the children can identify the different plants, birds and other creatures that they find. Use reference books both on site and in the classroom to help provide further information.

2. Get the children to make a 3-D model of the millpond. They could use a closed shoe box with a peephole at one end to create an underwater scene based on their visit.

3. Challenge the class to think imaginatively about the natural environment. For example, you might ask them to design and make a plant or creature for the pond, based either on fantasy or real life. You could extend the idea by asking them to turn their ideas into a sculpture for display on a site of their choice in the neighbourhood of the mill, school or somewhere else in your locality.

4.8 Restoring the Mill When the mill was acquired by Crabble Corn Mill Trust it was in a parlous state of repair. In one corner the foundations were collapsing, much of the timber cladding had been eaten away by rot and the roof was full of holes. It was remarkable that the structure survived the hurricane of 1987. It had narrowly escaped more deliberate attempts at destruction on several occasions in the previous few decades.

The first job was to underpin the north-east corner of the annex. The foundations were excavated and concrete poured into place section by section to make them secure. This was a difficult task as it meant working below the water table and the area had to be pumped

out continuously to stop it from flooding. Eventually it was discovered that the foundations of this part of the annex had been laid on a shallow wooden beam. Small wonder that it had rotted away!

Owing to the advanced state of decay it was also necessary to completely repair and restore most of the upper storeys. As well as replacing the cladding, new windows were fitted and the Lucam almost completely rebuilt. All in all, over three kilometres of wood were used. Local residents were invited to contribute to the costs through the “Buy A Plank” scheme. This raised a remarkable £6,500.

One of the most expensive items was the new roof made of specially dulled stainless steel. Although this material may seem rather unusual, it has the advantage of being comparatively light and does not add unnecessary weight to the mill tower. An added bonus is that, in theory at least, the roof will now be maintenance free for many years.

It was decided as a principle from the beginning that, in order to retain the character of the building, changes should be kept to a minimum. Thus where ever possible old timbers were retained and the original shutters and doors saved. Resin and artificial compounds were used extensively in the repairs. One beam on the third level proved a particular problem. It received over seventy litres of resin set in steel reinforcement before being declared safe.

By the summer of 1989 the scaffolding, which had shored up the mill for the past five years, was finally removed to reveal a gleaming new building. It was now secure against the weather and the upper levels no longer swayed in the wind. The next stage was to fit out the interior ready for opening to the public the following spring.

The main task was the construction of the new stair tower so that visitors could follow a one way system, ascending by the old staircase and returning by a different route. A wooden footbridge was also constructed, linking the café on the second level with the road across the river. Perspex screens and guards have been installed around some of the moving parts so that visitors may safely view some machinery in action.

Raising money for the restoration work was a huge task. After lengthy negotiations Dover District Council agreed to pay £130,000 towards the project. The other main contributor was English Heritage which put up £100,000. The Science Museum contributed £5,000 for the repair of the machinery in recognition of its unique status. Many smaller donations were received from individual companies, businesses and local residents.

The changes have had very little impact on the general appearance of the building. Every effort has been made to use sympathetic materials in keeping with the original structure. Where new work has been added to the interior it has been stained so that the additions can be clearly distinguished. This care and attention has not gone unnoticed and the mill has received high praise in many quarters for the quality of the restoration work which has made it one of Europe’s finest working water mills.

Study Ideas 1. Imagine you are in charge of a scheme to raise money for urgent, new repairs to the mill.

Devise a leaflet or poster for (a) a fund raising event, or (b) to attract sponsorship or funds. 2. Make a survey of the different materials used in the mill. How many bricks are there? What

quantity of timber? How many square metres of roofing? Encourage the pupils to make approximations rather than exact calculation. See if they can work out the value of the structure at present prices.

3. A local businessman wants to buy the mill and turn it into a night club. Ask the pupils to imagine they have been asked to advise on the scheme. It is their job to write a report describing the present building in words, diagrams and photographs. They should then add comments about repair and upkeep, the suitability of the scheme and the importance of the mill to its immediate surrounds and the locality as a whole. What conclusions do they reach?

5 Activity Sheets The aim of the classwork sheets is to provide a range of activities which will help children learn more about the mill and its mechanisms. The sheets are arranged in a loose order, beginning with a study of the site and ending with details of how the mill was saved from demolition. Some of them are especially suitable for preparation work, others are angled towards follow-up sessions. It is important to use them in conjunction with your visit as they will contribute significantly to the children’s understanding and enjoyment.

Each sheet begins with a question which the pupils then explore in a systematic way. Skills and first-hand experience are emphasised wherever possible, rather than pure factual knowledge. This approach has been adopted in the belief that children learn best when they find things out for themselves. Further details about how to use each sheet are given in the following notes.

The Site (5.1) When the troops were disbanded after the Napoleonic Wars, Crabble Corn Mill found a new role grinding imported grain which was then sold in the London market. Its proximity to the port of Dover was therefore crucial to its success. This sheet shows the location of the mill using maps at a variety of scales (Geography) and provides an introduction to the layout of the site. Pupils will need to refer to an atlas to complete the activity.

Flour Milling (5.2) There are many process involved in turning grain into flour. As they use this sheet pupils will discover how the grain threads its way up and down through the building from one machine to the next. If they are to understand how the mill works it is important that they appreciate the main features of its design before their visit (Design and Technology).

Machines and Mechanisms (5.3) This sheet takes a closer look at the work done by individual machines and mechanisms. Its main purpose is to help children identify them on site. However, it may also prompt pupils to make working models of their own (Design and Technology).

Harnessing Energy (5.4) Crabble Corn Mill harness about the same amount of energy as the average car. In this sheet pupils discover the power ratings of a variety of common machines (Science) and analyse their findings using a bar char (Mathematics). It is especially suitable for older children.

Using Water Power (5.5) From Biblical times until well into the nineteenth century water power provided a crucially important source of energy. In this sheet children construct a timeline to discover the different ways people have used water power of the centuries (History). The question of sustainable energy sources is also raised.

Diet (5.6) In the nineteenth century, when Crabble Corn Mill was operating commercially, there was a fashion for highly refined white flour. The importance of a balanced diet has only been appreciated in the twentieth century. This activity, which is aimed at older pupils, illustrates some of the ways flour contributes to our diet (Science).

Architecture (5.7) Although Crabble Corn Mill is largely a utilitarian structure it is an attractive building that makes a positive contribution to the local environment. In this sheet children are introduced to the main architectural features. As well as raising questions of aesthetics which could be explored through art, the study invites comparative studies of buildings in the school environment (Geography).

Saving Crabble Corn Mill (5.8) Crabble Corn Mill narrowly escaped destruction on several occasions over the last few decades. What were the arguments for and against its preservation? This sheet presents a range of statements culled from the local newspaper to show the different opinions expressed. It is best used with older pupils as the introduction to an exercise in imaginative writing (English) or as the basis for a simulation of a public inquiry/debate (Geography).

Mill Crossword (5.9) There are many specialist terms associated with corn milling. Children are reminded of some of the most important ones in this activity. Many teachers will find it useful as “revision sheet” for use on the train or coach just before the visit. However it could also be used in conjunction with the “mill idioms” (English).

The Use of Querns (5.10) Crabble Corn Mill has replicas of three types of hand operated millstones from different periods of history. The children are invited to investigate each type and record their findings.

5.1 The Site Where is Crabble Corn Mill in relation to the rest of the country?

1. Colour the maps showing Crabble Corn Mill and Dover 2. Using an atlas, show the mill on your own map of (a) Kent and (b) the United Kingdom.

Mark some of the important towns and then colour the land and sea.

KENT & ITS SURROUNDINGS THE UNITED KINGDOM

3. Discuss how you think Crabble Corn Mill benefited from being close to a port. What could it have obtained by sea? Where could it have sold its produce?

5.2 Flour Milling How is grain turned into flour?

1. Look at the table below. Colour the code boxes using a different colour for delivery, cleaning, milling and sifting.

EVENT PROCESS CODE LEVEL LETTER

Grain is delivered by horse and cart Delivery 1 D

The grain is hoisted to the top level Delivery 6 H

It is tipped into the dirty grain bin Cleaning 4 B

It is taken by elevator to the smutter Cleaning 6 S

The clean grain is tipped into the ark Cleaning 4 A

The grain is fed into the mill stones Milling 3 M

The flour is sifted in the reel Sifting 5 R

The bran is sifted in a bran cleaner Sifting 4 C

The flour and bran are put into storage rooms Sifting 3 SR

It is weighed and put into bags Sifting 2 W

2. Complete the diagram by writing the correct letter in each empty square on the different levels.

3. Colour each box using the colour code from you table.

4. Now answer these questions:- a. On which level does milling take

place? b. Which process requires the most

machinery - delivery, cleaning, milling or sifting?

c. Which requires the least? d. How many times is the grain carried

upwards? e. Why do you think this is necessary?

5.3 Machines and Mechanisms What is the purpose of all the different machines?

1. Label the machines using the list below

1. Mill Stones 2. Sack Hoist 3. Reel 4. Smutter 5. Tentering Governor 6. Plan Sifter 7. Sack Balance 8. Elevator 9. Auger 10. Bran Duster

1.

6.

10.

7.

8.

9.

4. 3.

2. 5.

2. Now complete the sentences about each one, using the words in the box.

The grain is ground into __________ by the mill stones.

The hoist lifts the grain sacks to the top __________ .

The reel is a sieve which __________ the bran from the white flour.

Poisonous fungus (smut) is removed in the __________ .

The tentering governor keeps the __________ of the flour constant.

The __________ sorts the bran into different grades.

Bags of grain are weighed on the __________ .

The auger moves grain and flour __________ .

The bran duster removes __________ from the bran.

5.4 Harnessing Energy How much energy did Crabble Corn Mill harness?

1. Look at the list of electric and petrol machines in the files below. Add two more examples to each list for which you know the power rating.

Conversions: 750 Watts = 1 horsepower, 110 cm3 = 1 horsepower.

2. Work out the horsepower used by each machine. To do this divide the rating by the number of Watts or cm3 which make 1 horsepower. For example the cooker has a rating of 10 horsepower (7,500 divided by 750).

3. Show your results on the bar chart below. For each machine, colour the correct bar length and label.

Cooker/Oven Light Bulb Kettle Electric Fire Small Car Lawn Mower Scooter Large Car Horsepower 5 10 15 20 25 30

4. Now add Crabble Corn Mill to the chart by colouring a bar of 15 horsepower.

Electric Machines

Name Rating (Watts)

Horse Power

Cooker/Oven 7,500

Light Bulb 75 Kettle 3,000 Electric Fire (2 bar)

2,000

Petrol Machines

Name Rating (cm3)

Horse Power

Small Car 1,100

Lawn Mower 55 Scooter 110 Large Car 2,750

5.5 Using Water Power In what different ways have people used water power over the centuries?

1. Carefully colour the drawings and timeline on this sheet.

2. Cut out the drawings, label and arrange them in the correct order against the timeline on a separate piece of paper. Stick them down and add arrows to show the approximate date.

3. Now mark the period from 1812 to 1893 when Crabble Corn Mill

was in operation.

4. Draw a small map of the world to show how water power technology has spread. Discuss how it might be used in future.

Watering fields

Iraq. Circa 200 BC

Grinding corn

Turkey. Circa 100 BC

Driving bellows

China. Circa 31 AD Beating cloth

England. Circa 1200 AD Draining Mines

Germany. Circa 1400 AD

Crushing ore Italy. Circa 1500 AD

Driving spinning machines England. Circa 1800 AD

Driving electric turbines United States. 1900 AD

300 BC 200 BC 100 BC 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000

5.6 Diet How does flour contribute to our diet?

1. Make a list of foods and dishes that contain flour. You may find it useful to look at the list of ingredients on tins and packets.

2. Now look at the table below. It lists the nutritional value of a number of different foods. Add three more of your own in the space along the top.

W

hite

Bre

ad

Who

lem

eal

Bre

ad

Bak

ed

Bea

ns

Swee

t cor

n

NUTRITION per 100g VALUE Protein (g) Aids growth 7.5 10.3 5.0 3.0 Carbohydrate (g) Provides energy 50.7 425.5 9.5 14.0 Fat (g) Provides energy 1.5 0 0.4 0 Fibre (g) Aids digestion 3.6 9.0 7.3 6.0 TOTAL

ENERGY (Kc) 253 225 60 60

3. Circle the highest values on each line. 4. Using the information from your survey, complete the table below.

Best source of Protein

Best source of Carbohydrate

Best source of fat

Best source of fibre

5. What are the main differences between white and wholemeal bread? 6. Why is it important that we eat a variety of different foods? 7. Look at some more food labels (especially breakfast cereals) and make a list of vitamins

that they contain. Find out how they contribute to our diet.

Soup

5.7 Architecture What are the main architectural features of Crabble Corn Mill?

NUMBER ITEM DESCRIPTION COLOUR

Lucam Covers external hoist gear White

Roof Made of stainless steel Grey

Windows Vertical sliding sash windows Black

Walls (upper) Wooden planks on a timber framework White

Walls (lower) Bricks arranged in English Bond Red

Tie plates Strengthen walls to stop them bowing White

Water wheel Made of iron with sixty eight paddles Black

Ventilation shutter Open to give better ventilation White

Mill pond Stores water for driving mill Blue

5.8 Saving Crabble Corn Mill What were the arguments for and against saving the mill?

1. Read carefully the comments made by the people below.

Its an ideal piece of history for children to learn from.

Dover is fortunate in having such a fine mill with such a well preserved set of machinery.

The council is reluctant to spend large amounts of money to repair the mill when there are more important projects to consider.

If the mill is restored it will bring more traffic to our quiet neighbourhood.

Everything should be done to preserve this vital part of our heritage.

The mill will never become a successful tourist attraction.

There is not enough space for people to park their cars, let alone coaches.

It would be a crime if such a lovely building were allowed to fall into ruins.

2. Using the table, list the reason for and against saving the mill.

REASONS FOR REASONS AGAINST

3. Imagine you are a reporter working for a local newspaper. Write a short account of a meeting

at which the future of the mill was discussed. You could invent names for the different speakers and give your report an ‘angle’ to make it more interesting to read.

5.9 Mill Crossword What special words are used to describe the watermill?

Lucam I am the starch in the grain.

Smutter I cover up the mill stones.

Ark I sift the produce.

Tun I lift the corn to the top level.

Burrstone I am the main grain store.

Endosperm I am a type of water wheel.

Auger I remove fungus from the corn.

Eye I carry produce horizontally.

Leat I cover the hoist.

Reel I am tough and hard-wearing.

Hoist I am the centre of the mill stones.

Breastshot I am the mill stream.

1. Using a ruler, draw coloured lines linking the clues with the answers.

2. Complete the mill crossword using these words.

3. Now make up your own list of a dozen ‘mill’ words and see if you can fit them into the outline shape.

R

E

T

L

A

A

B

SB

LH

5.10 The Use of Querns Why do you think that windmills and watermills were so popular for making flour?

1. There are three basic types of hand-operated millstones, called querns.

a. The Saddle Quern.

b. The Semi-Rotary Quern.

c. The Rotary Quern.

2. Use all three types and try to produce good quality flour. Decide which sort of quern is the best to use. Use the chart below to help you by answering each of the questions.

Saddle Quern

Semi-Rotary Quern

Rotary Quern

Which makes the best flour? Which is the easiest to use? Which is the hardest to use? Which ground flour most quickly? Which ground flour most slowly? Which was the most awkward to use? Which needed the most skill to use?

3. Now that you have tried them all, which sort of quern would you choose if you had to grind all of your household’s flour at home?

6. Documents 6.1 Technology

6.2 The Working Day

6.3 Crabble Corn Mill

6.1 Technology The earliest reference to a watermill is believed to be in a poem written in about 15 BC by Antipater of Thessalonica

Ye maids, who toiled so faithfully at the mill, Now cease your work, and from those toils be still,

Sleep now till dawn, and let the birds with glee Sing to the ruddy morn on bush and tree;

For what your hands performed so long and true Ceres has charged the water nymphs to do.

Translated by Dr. Tennant and quoted in The Watermills of Britain by Leslie Syson. (David and Charles 1980)

Writing in 15 BC the Roman architect Virtruvius described what is clearly a vertical water wheel.

Mill wheels are turned on the same principle [as machines for raising water], except that at one end of the axle a toothed drum is fixed. This is placed vertically on its edge and turns with the wheel. Adjoining this larger wheel there is a second toothed wheel placed horizontally by which it is gripped. Thus the teeth of the drum which is on the axle, by driving the teeth of the horizontal drum, cause the grindstones to revolve. In the machine a hopper is suspended and supplies the grain, and by the same revolution the flour is produced.

From De Architectura (Book 10) translated by Frank Granger 1934.

6.2 The Working Day Information about watermills comes from three main sources - documents, archaeology and human memories. The following reminiscences about everyday working life were recorded by M J Fuller and R J Spain and quoted in their book “Watermills” (Kent Archaeological Society 1986).

“The working-day started with the loading of the delivery vans. The loads were usually two-horse loads, but the vans needed additional pulling up the hills. I well remember how extremely cold it was out there in the winter mornings with a frost going on outside and, as there was no heat at all in the mill, one sat in overcoats and mufflers at the desk. Even so, it was absolutely perishingly cold, and of course it was pitch dark at that time of a winter’s day and even on a Saturday, loading used to start at half past five. The only light we had came from candles...

The two millers came down to the mill at six o’clock in the morning and, after oiling and greasing through the mill, and the outside bearings of the waterwheel, and greasing the cogs with tallow, which I remember being kept in an old tin at one end of the ground floor, the mill started up at half-past six so regularly that one could almost set one’s watch indoors by it.

We also ground oats (in addition to maize and beans), and these were a very tough consignment that always required a very sharp and newly-dressed pair of stones. After we had been running a day or two with oats, it was usually necessary to go over to grinding some sort of cattle food, or hog corn, because the stones just wouldn’t cut the oats.”

Gordon Clemenston, recorded c1969

“The first indication that the stones needed attention was the gradual loss of production, which eventually could fall to less than one-half of the normal output. Other symptoms were a loss of quality and an increase in the temperature of the meal which should be warm, not hot. Mr. Nye used to take up the stones at 7.30 in the morning and the dressing was finished by 4 o’clock in the afternoon. There was no heat in the mill and, in cold weather, he climbed inside a corn sack, but even then it was bitterly cold. Gloves could not be worn because of the loss of sensitivity and this allowed the steel fragments to drive straight into the hands to such an extent that Mr. Nye’s hands were sometimes raw and bleeding when he went home at night. At home, his wife would pick out as much steel as he could stand, but much of it remains in his hands to this day.

Holman of Canterbury did most of the re-cogging at Swanton Mill. When cogs were fitted properly they gave out a singing note whilst they were running. Sometimes a cog became loose and gave out a rattle instead of singing, and it was then packed with a piece of paper or board. Cogs were made of apple or hornbeam. In the case of a gearwheel which was liable to get wet, it was the practice to use oak cogs.”

Wally Nye, recorded July 1974

“There was an eel-trap at Hanover Mill, right across the river, and the eels were sent sometimes to Billingsgate fish market. Eels run at the spring of the year and the fall of the leaf, but the autumn eels are best. Ratting cats were kept in the mill, and vermin were not really much of a problem, but the little terrier that we once had was unfortunately killed when it got caught in the gearing one day. The mill was originally lit by candles stuck in carriers fixed into holes in the walls but, in the thirties, lighting was installed when electricity was brought to the village.”

Philip Hancock, recorded December 1974

6.3 Crabble Corn Mill

Extract from the Kentish Gazette, 12th October 1787 Run away, on Monday 8th Instant, in the Afternoon, from the service of Mr. Joseph Pilcher, Crabble, in the Parish of River.

JOHN WALTER, MILLER, about five feet six inches high, fair complexion, and cut in his lip, Negro Nose, with his hair tied behind.

Whoever will give further information, so that the above John Walter may be apprehended, shall receive Two Guineas reward.

Extract from Kentish Gazette, 10th October 1817 A most singular occurrence took place at Crabwell Mill on Monday last. As a farmer’s servant was at the mill unloading a wagon with wheat, in fixing the rope round one of the sacks, his thumb became entangled, and the man was drawn up to the top of the mill, which is a very considerable height... yet he sustained no injury whatever.

Extract from Kentish Gazette, 12th February 1822 The following calamitous event occurred at Mr. Pilcher’s mill at River on Friday last. The millers perceiving that something impeded the working of the mill, one of them went to the top in order to ascertain the cause, when (distressing to relate) he beheld his son, William Croft, a youth of about thirteen years old, entangled in the works: the utmost expedition was used to stop the machinery, which when effected, the unfortunate lad was taken out, a dreadful spectacle, his head and legs crushed to pieces. It is conjectured that the sleeve of his gabardine having been caught by a key on the spindle of the spur wheel, he had been drawn into the works... The father has worked in the mill for about 25 years... What adds to the calamity is that another of his sons lost his life about four years since at the same mill by falling into a flour bin.

Extract from Pigot’s London and Provincial Directory 1840 MILLERS

Kingsford William (and seed crusher), Charlton

Mannering Wilshire, Stembrook

Pilcher John and Edward, Crabble Corn Mill

Pilcher Joseph Webb, Mill St. and Crabble

Extract from Pike’s Dover Blue Book and Local Directory 1890 MILLERS

Brace and Son, Stembrook

Chitty G W and Co, Granville Street and Charlton Green

Hogben and Son, Town Mill, Mill Lane

Mannering, W and E, 113 London Road and at River

7. Other References

7.1 Mill Idioms The long association between mills and people is reflected in the large number of “mill idioms” which have crept into our language. Some of the most evocative are listed below.

The mill cannot grind with water that is past. In other words, make the most of the present moment.

The mill that is always going grinds course and fine. A person who talks too much cannot escape occasionally saying things that would be better left unsaid.

The miller’s boy said so.... It is common knowledge. Smooth as a mill pond. Metaphor for describing the surface of the sea. I can see as far into a mill stone as another man. I am as perceptive as anyone else (often

used ironically). To put someone through the mill. To subject someone to harsh training or unpleasant

exercises. God’s mill grinds slow but sure. The proper punishment or reward for a person’s actions

may be delayed but it is certain to be delivered in the end. An honest miller has a thumb of gold. In other words, there are no honest millers. Too much water drowned the miller. One can have too much of a good thing. A mill stone around someone’s neck. A person, thing or responsibility that causes much

trouble. Run of the mill. Average or ordinary. Objects or material produced during the run of the

mill are of ordinary quality. It’s all grist to the mill. This experience, information or piece of work can be put to some

use although it may not be what was expected or required. Much water goes by the mill that the miller knows not of. In other words, we do not always

understand the significance of the things that are happening to us. Mills and wives are ever wanting. They both demand a lot of attention. Fancy may bolt bran and think it flour. Our imaginations can sometimes get the better of

us. Mills will not grind if you give them not water. Used especially to refer to lawyers who will

only work for money. Put out the miller’s eye. Spoken by good housewives when they have added too much

water to their bread or pastry. More sacks to the mill. Supplement argument with argument.

Perhaps one of the most interesting idioms in common use is the phrase to show your metal. This derives from the days when itinerant craftsmen travelled around the country dressing mill stones. If the miller had not met the dresser before he would ask him “to show his metal”, or, in other words, hold out his hands. The miller was then able to see if he was experienced by the quantity of minute steel splinter embedded in them.

7.2 Glossary Ark Bin for storing clean grain.

Auger An Archimedean screw used for transporting grain or meal horizontally.

Bran Outer skin or covering of wheat and other cereals.

Breastshot Wheel A water wheel which is driven by water entering at, or about, the midpoint.

Burr Stone A hard-wearing quartz used in mill stones and obtained from quarries near Paris, France.

Corn (English usage) Any type of grain, especially cereals such as wheat, barley, oats and rye.

Corn (American usage) Maize.

Crown Wheel Large cog wheel found at the top of the upright shaft.

Damsel Eccentric spindle used for knocking grain into the eye of the mill stones.

Elevator An endless belt fitted with a number of small buckets used for lifting grain or products vertically through a mill.

Endosperm Starchy substance found in the centre of wheat from which white flour is obtained.

Eye The central hole in the mill stones.

Grist Material ground in a mill, especially animal feed.

Hoist Device for winching sacks of grain to the top floor of a mill.

Leat Artificial mill stream leading water to the mill.

Lucam Covering for the external hoist gear, jutting out from the top floors of a mill.

Meal Unsifted flour.

Overshot Wheel Water wheel driven by the weight of water falling onto paddles or buckets.

Plan Sifter Oscillating sieve used to separate brain into different grades.

Pulley Wheel or drum driven by, or driving, a belt.

Quern Hand mill for grinding corn.

Reel Silk covered cylinder used for sifting bran from white flour.

Sluice Sliding gate for controlling level of water in a mill pond or water to a waterwheel.

Smutter Machine for cleaning wheat, removing straw pieces, chaff, foreign seeds and any fungus (smut).

Tail Race Mill stream below the waterwheel.

Tentering Mechanism for making fine adjustments to the gap between the mill stones.

Tun Hexagonal wooden case covering the mill stones.

Undershot Wheel Water wheel driven by the flow of water past the bottom of the wheel.

Upright Shaft Main shaft transmitting power from the water wheel to the upper levels of a mill.

Wallower Small gear wheel linking the water wheel and upright shaft (probably a derivation of Wall Over).

7.3 Technical Data

POWER Energy Generated Flow Available

30 horse power (22,400 watts) approx. Equivalent to about 15 million gallons (68 million litres) per 24 hours - to drive 4 pairs of mill stones. Varies widely from a negligible flow under severe drought to perhaps 10 million gallons (45 million litres) per day. Flow has been much reduced in this century by water abstraction depleting the flow from springs feeding the river.

DRIVE SYSTEM Water Wheel Dimensions of Water Wheel Optimum Speed of Water Wheel Pit Wheel Dimensions of Pit Wheel Great Spur Wheel Optimum Speed Crown Wheel Stepover

Made of iron with 3 sets of eight spokes and 68 buckets. 5.4 metres in diameter, 2.3 metres wide. 5.5 revolutions per minute. Cast iron with eight spokes and 128 wooden teeth. 3.2 metres in diameter. 3.0 metres in diameter with 144 wooden teeth. 17.5 revolutions per minute. 48 wooden teeth. Gives twofold increase in speed.

MACHINERY Mill Stones Dimensions of Mill Stones Weight of Mill Stones Silk Reel/Bolter Bran Duster Plan Sifter Weighing Scales

Five pairs of stones made of French Burr. When new, the runner stone is about 350 mm deep. 700 Kilograms. Operates at approximately 25 rpm. Operates at approximately 335 rpm. Operates at approximately 300 rpm. Able to weigh up to 100 Kilograms and accurate to within two grams.

OPERATION Wheat Production Additives

English, selected for high protein and grain size. Approximately 1½ tonnes per set on stones for a 12-hour working day. In Victorian times up to 2% added by inclusion of chalk, ground bones and other “whiteners”.

MILL POND Capacity Depth

Used to provide sufficient reserves of water to drive the mill for the entire working day. Originally about one metre, but now reduced to about half this through silting.

MAINTENANCE Mill Stones

Each set of stones need cleaning and inspection approximately monthly. They need redressing after about 75 tonnes of production.

7.4 Bibliography Books for Adults. Watermills (Kent and the Borders of Sussex) by M J Fuller and R J Spain Kent Archaeological Society 1986 (ISBN 978-0906746080)

Victorian and Edwardian Windmills and Watermills from Old Photographs by J K Major and M Watts B T Batsford 1977 (ASIN B00B2DAHXY)

Windmills and Watermills by J Reynolds Hugh Evelyn 1970 (ISBN 978-0238789434)

Stronger Than a Hundred Men (A History of the Vertical Water Wheel) by T S Reynolds John Hopkins University Press 1983/2002 (ISBN 978-0801872488)

The Watermills of Britain by L Syson David & Charles 1980 (ISBN 978-0715378243)

Watermills by P Wenham Robert Hale 1989 (ISBN 978-0709035268)

Books for Children Water Power (Fun with Science) by E Catheral Silver Burdett Press 1982 (ISBN 978-0382066306) Aimed at the younger reader, this book contains a range of simple science experiments including a home-made water wheel.

Traffics and Discoveries by R Kipling Macmillan 1904 (ASIN B00847OTR6) The final story in this collection “Below the Mill Dam”, describes how electricity is brought to an old mill. Interesting but esoteric.

Wheels of Danger by R Leeson Collins 1986 (ISBN 978-0001847910) Children discover a disused mill on the moors and try to get the water wheel working again. An excellent introduction to a class visit if read aloud.

Mill by D Macaulay Collins 1983 (ISBN 978-0395348307) Beautifully illustrated account of the planning, construction, operation and updating of a nineteenth century American textile mill.

Windmills and Watermills by C Vialls A & C Black 1971 (ISBN 978-0713611762) A reference book for younger children in Black’s industrial archaeology series.

In addition, many fairy tales involve mills and millers. Grimm’s Fairy Tales are a good starting point with stories like “The Nixie of the Mill Pond” and “Rumpelstilskin” in which the distressed maiden is a miller’s daughter. You might also like to look at the adventures of Max and Moritz by the nineteenth century writer Wilhelm Busch. These simple tales, which often involve mill life, are considered to be the forerunner of the modern cartoon and are familiar to many Germans.

Table of Contents 1 Planning Your Visit ..................................................................................................................... 1

2 Preparing For Your Visit ............................................................................................................. 4

3 Taking Your Class to Crabble Corn Mill ..................................................................................... 5

4 Study Themes ............................................................................................................................. 7

4.1 The Mill Story ...................................................................................................................... 8

4.2 Flour Milling ..................................................................................................................... 11

4.3 Machines and Mechanisms ................................................................................................ 14

4.4 Water Power Technology .................................................................................................. 18

4.5 Wheat ............................................................................................................................... 20

4.6 Mill Architecture ............................................................................................................... 22

4.7 The Mill Pond .................................................................................................................... 24

4.8 Restoring the Mill .............................................................................................................. 26

5 Activity Sheets .......................................................................................................................... 28

5.1 The Site ............................................................................................................................. 30

5.2 Flour Milling ..................................................................................................................... 31

5.3 Machines and Mechanisms ................................................................................................ 32

5.4 Harnessing Energy ........................................................................................................... 34

5.5 Using Water Power ........................................................................................................... 35

5.6 Diet ................................................................................................................................... 36

5.7 Architecture ...................................................................................................................... 37

5.8 Saving Crabble Corn Mill ................................................................................................. 38

5.9 Mill Crossword ................................................................................................................. 39

5.10 The Use of Querns ............................................................................................................. 40

6. Documents ............................................................................................................................... 41

6.1 Technology ....................................................................................................................... 42

6.2 The Working Day .............................................................................................................. 43

6.3 Crabble Corn Mill ............................................................................................................. 44

7. Other References ..................................................................................................................... 45

7.1 Mill Idioms ........................................................................................................................ 45

7.2 Glossary ........................................................................................................................... 46

7.3 Technical Data .................................................................................................................. 48

7.4 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 49

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