Restoration of the Waterwheels and Wheelhouse
Two of the three waterwheels were in place in 1981, but as can be seen in the pictures below they were not in a very good state.
The waterwheels in 1981
The waterwheels in 1987
The shrouds for both wheels
The shrouds (metal rims) of the wheels were removed and stored and the wheel pit was dug out and relined in late 1989.
Digging out the wheel pit in August 1989
The wheel pit in September 1989
The masonry of the North (river side) wall was unstable and so this was dismantled carefully so that it could be rebuilt with the dressed stones in their original positions. This allows us to see the original curved scratch marks made by a wheel running out of true where the second wheel would have been.
January 1990
February 1990
The restored wheel in 1992
The wheel house is a lean-to structure on the North side of the mill covering the wheels and wheel pit. it was mostly missing at the start of the restoration with just the base of the wall present.
The wheelhouse in May 1989
The wheelhouse in April 1992
The wheelhouse in June 1992