The aim of the book is twofold: firstly it
describes the basics of flour production using water
power and millstones. It then goes on to give a
brief introduction to each of the 19 English corn
watermills in the care of the National Trust that
are open on a regular basis.
The first section gives a well-balanced overview of
features common to many mills, with excellent
illustrations, many by John Brandrick, and relevant
photos. It clearly demonstrates that Nigel has
extensive knowledge of mills and mill machinery,
which makes it much more informative than the older
generation of books about mills, which I think tend
to have too many picturesque views and not enough
technical detail.
The second section devotes 2 or 3 pages to each of
the 19 mills, again with attractive photos. Nigel
has cunningly inserted some technical details, again
assisted by John Brandrick’s very informative
illustrations, which makes the book much more
interesting to someone like me, and would hopefully
encourage casual visitors to the mills to look at
them more carefully. There are notes on the history
of each mill, and some details of the work done by
the National Trust.
I have always been a bit confused about the
differences between the various types of flour
dressers, and this book manages to clarify these for
me. There are detailed explanations of the
operations of a bolter at Coleshill Mill, a bolting
reel at Lode Mill, a wire machine at Shalford Mill,
and a centrifugal dresser at Houghton Mill.
So all told this is a unique book that seems to have
identified a gap in the market, and filled it in an
informative and readable way.
