Keep up to date with progress of the restoration of Beeleigh Steam Mill. This blog will also contain articles on the history of Beeleigh Mill, including the watermill.
Blog
Beeleigh Mill Beam Engine Running
By Lawrence Tattersall
Thursday, the 6th February 2020, is now a special day in the history of Beeleigh Mill – after 145 years of quiescence our Beam Engine was galloping away! A most exciting vision for the volunteers of BMRG. Continue reading Beeleigh Mill Beam Engine Running
The Stone Floor Project Story
The stone floor is the upper floor of the steam mill, where the millstones where located. It is a complex structure with four layers of planks, some bolted together. At some time in the past the original roof failed, wet rot and wood worm took hold and eventually part of the floor collapsed, leaving a large hole. As a result the floor had been designated off limits.
In the last quarter of 2014 two small areas of the floor were repaired by the volunteers with the support of ECC and a grant from Maldon District Council. This allowed us to go onto the floor with care. Over 2015 and 2016 an extensive survey of the floor structure was undertaken and a series of scale drawings produced. At first we tried to get a heritage building contractor interested in working with us to repair the floor. However, those we approached firstly expressed interest, then eventually stopped returning our calls.
In late 2016 further searching of the internet identified Dr Joe Bispham as a Historic Buildings Consultant, and even better one of our volunteers, Richard Rowsell, knew him. We made contact and Dr Bispham visited the mill and agreed to help us develop a plan. With his help we consulted Maldon District Council’s Heritage Planning officers and got agreement to repairing the floor subject to further consultation about the details.
In April 2017 volunteers from the Beeleigh Mill Restoration Group started to strip back the timbers of the Stone Floor to expose the main beams for inspection and ultimate repair by specialists in the field. Continue reading The Stone Floor Project Story
The Ward Family of Beeleigh Mill
The first piece of evidence of the Ward family being involved with the mill came from the Essex Standard, dated 3rd May 1834. Beeleigh Mill had been sold at auction to Mr Ward, of Merton Mills, Surrey.