Fourteen members visited the Wayside Museum and Trewey Mill at Zennor. Members were able to learn about the early history of the area, life in a typical Cornish home of the 19th century, mining and past trades such as cooperage, cobbling, wheelwrighting and coach building. The Museum, established in 1937 by Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Hirst, and still privately owned, is packed with 5000 artefacts and information both outside and in. Externally there were several Bronze Age domestic tools eg quernstones and many 19thcentury horse drawn farm implements.

The highlight of the visit was a talk by the miller and owner Bob Priddle, who provided a history of the mill and explained the process of milling. Members were then able to see the mill in action and some braved the outside platform as the leat began to supply 40 litres of water per second to the 12 foot overshot mill wheel and until the wheel began to turn water swilled around the feet of the onlookers.

The current mill building was constructed in the early 19th century and fell into disuse about 150 years ago, the result of importation of wheat from the Prairies and the development of large mills, using steel rollers, in close proximity to the ports of entry. The water supply was originally from a pond to the north of the road and a wooden launder and leat brought the water to the wheel, today it is pumped from the stream. The water wheel powered two sets of stones, both are of granite. The gear cogs are metal but the teeth are made of apple or pear wood to reduce the risk of fire.

Dressing the grind stones to ensure efficient grindings takes two days and is done every two years by hand using a mill bill. The mill sat idle for many years and was renovated in 2010 by the current owners. Wheat from the Sandringham estate, rye and spelt are now milled for visitors and other clients. The latter was the staple food of Roman soldiers, is easy to digest and has properties which help those with arthritis. However yield per acre is low and thus spelt is expensive An earlier mill was located further down the valley and may at one time have been a fulling mill associated with the production of woollen textiles. The mill house dates to 1513, so it is likely that the earlier mill was at least old as this property.

Many returned to the bus clutching bags of wheat and spelt flour. Some of the group, despite being Cornish, had not visited Zennor and were very impressed with the location, the village and the museum. They will be visiting again possibly with other local groups.

Geoff Brown, the chairman, thanked Sara Priddle for a fascinating visit.

The Group will be visiting Piskey’s Hall Fogou and Trewardreva House in the parish on Friday, August 15 and will meet in the church car park at 6.15pm.