Our work at Houghton Mill

Houghton Mill’s annual millstone inspection

When Houghton Mill is open for the season, it can produce up to 150kg of flour on each milling day.

The mill uses French burr stones and the same traditional methods used over 150 years ago. Milling flour using 18th-century machinery is a noisy and very physical process that can eventually take its toll even on even the most hard-wearing of millstones.

Each year specialist millwrights Dorothea Restorations and our experienced volunteer millers work together to inspect, clean and prepare both pairs of millstones for the year ahead. Here’s how it’s done:

The casing is removed and the stones are separated

Before the millstones can be inspected, our millers carefully take apart the wooden casing. This is what protects the millstones (and our visitors) when they are in action. A stone crane is used to raise the top running stone.

The inner surfaces of the millstones are inspected

The millwrights inspect the inner surfaces of the millstones to check for any uneven wear, glaze or moisture damage. They also measure how deep the furrows are.

The running stone is measured

The high-quality burr stones used at Houghton Mill should only need to be replaced every 100 years. However, every few years they will need to be redressed to make sure they work efficiently.

Any grain is removed from the bearings

The neck bearing is taken apart, any grain is cleaned away and it’s then greased.

The 'furniture' is replaced

The millstones are put back together and the ‘furniture’ (tun, quant, horse and shoe) is put back around the millstones before a test run of the waterwheel.

Ready to mill

When the millwrights and millers are happy everything is working, we’re ready to start producing freshly milled Houghton Mill stoneground flour again.

 

Thank you 

With your ongoing support, we're able to continue our vital conservation work. Thank you for helping to protect these special places.