The tour starts on the ground floor of the Miller's House, the faŤade of which was reconstructed in 1983 and is now the Visitor and Education Centre. The stock brick party wall with the mill and several fireplaces remain. The marble and slate floor to the former entrance hall, and the re-established garden, illustrate the high standard of living of the miller and the profitability of the milling and distillery business. The stone foundation across the building shows the location of the original rear wall before the House was later extended.
The tour then ascends to the top of the Mill. The top (fourth) floor was used to hoist up the sacks and fill the grain bins (on the third floor) from above. Parts of the sack hoist which remain may he seen through the gap in the ceiling: the wheel operated by a belt from the machinery on the second floor; the 'clutch' which brought the belt into tension with the wheel; a barrel roller, with metal protective strips and the anchorage from the chain; and a roller and pulley, over which the chain ran. The system was probably controlled from the ground floor by a rope.
The one-way trapdoors may still be seen on all the floors above the ground, except the third floor, where it is encased in a wooden column to avoid contact with grain, which was stored loose.
The third floor was devoted entirely to grain storage bins, which may have been capable of storing 150 tons of grain. Grain was supplied to lower floors by gravity, through chutes the covers of which may be seen. 'Ladders' on the walls of adjacent bins (the stairs are more recent) were used to provide access to clean the bins - but also provided an important means of escape if a workman fell into a bin full of grain!
On this floor may also be seen the high quality of the workmanship involved in the restoration, which maximised the extent to which the surviving timber was preserved.
The second floor was the "Cleaning and Smutting floor", where grain was prepared before milling, or processed after milling. Parts of the main drive machinery remain: the main shafts and crown wheels from two of the main water-wheels; and the horizontal shaft which provided power ,via belts and lines, to the machinery. The space through which the belt passed to the sack hoist may be seen. Unfortunately, none of the processing machinery has survived.
It will be noted that some of the chutes were used to deliver grain to this floor for processing while others passed through direct to the milling floor below.
The first floor contained the milling machinery: 4 pairs of stones from the two older, easternmost wheels (see below) and 8 pairs from the other two wheels. Four pairs of the older stones rernain, but only two pairs of the newer, Fairbairn-type, stones (see below). The grain was delivered to the stones by hoppers from above. The grain entered the stones, which revolved at about 100-120 r.p.m. In the older stories, it entered at the centre by means of a shoe, which in turn was vibrated by the 'damsel' to ensure a free flow of grain. The angle of inclination of the shoe, and thus the quantity of grain flowing and the quality of the product, were controlled by the miller on the ground floor. An alarm bell warned the miller if the grain supply to the stones was running low. This was essential as there is a high risk of fire - or even explosion - if the wheels were allowed to grind without meal.
Most but not quite all, of the milling furniture remains on one stone, which can be used to illustrate the process and the miller's control from the ground floor. The anchorages for the crane used to raise the stones for regular re-cutting may also be noted. The crane itself is illustrated in a photograph.
The other set of stones was operated by machinery to William Fairbairn's "silent millstone design, installed late in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, neither the gearing from the wheels, nor the ancillary machinery, has survived. The illustration shows the equipment when in operation. Grain was delivered through one multi-outlet hopper capable of holding over 90 tons of grain. The two western wheels were used only to operate the 8 stones. Grain was delivered through chutes from the larger hopper into cone-shaped hoppers. It then fell through a cylindrical pipe and was spread evenly, by centrifugal force, between the stones, without need of the damsel hence the 'silent' machinery (see photograph).
The power house of the Mill was on the ground floor, where the massive water wheels operated. Three of the wheels were each capable of developing 20-25 h.p. The fourth is 8 feet wide, 20 feet in diameter and was capable of delivering 40-45 h.p. They revolved at about 16 r.p.m. but the gearing of the machinery converted this to the speed of the stones.
On this floor may be seen:
The tour leaves the Mill through the garden and the ground floor of the Miller's House and Trust shop. On returning to Three Mill Lane, visitors may also wish to note the outside of the House Mill, including Daniel Bisson's plaque and the cast iron wall plates; the listed roadway across the mill races and waterways, with flag 'tramways' both along the bridge and across to gates beside it giving access to the waterway below, and to the former warehouse; and the fa¸ade of the Clock Mill.