The mill wheel and mill were damaged in flash floods and work has taken place so that the wheel can spin again. Although not fully operational it was able to spin for a short time today.
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00:00 We're at the absolutely stunning Daniel's Mill and you are sir?
00:04 Peter George.
00:05 Peter, the mill's been in your family hasn't it for a number of years, is that right?
00:09 Yes, 250, starting in 1771 with the Bias Crowder.
00:17 And it's gorgeous isn't it, gorgeous thing.
00:20 It's gorgeous on a nice day, that's for sure.
00:22 Yeah, is it a headache to be a custodian, you know, because it's an old girl?
00:27 Well they often say you put a millstone round your neck when you marry the miller's daughter.
00:32 Is that what they say? I just won't remember that.
00:35 And it's had its fair share of abuse over the years, not from the weather.
00:42 Yes, the weather's a bit of a thug.
00:46 Yeah, well I wouldn't have thought that particularly flooding would be an issue here,
00:50 but it does happen doesn't it, and to fill us in,
00:53 you said even in this time of the year when we traditionally think nice sunny, you've had what?
00:58 2007, three flash floods, period of low, end of June, to July.
01:06 So when you've had a flash flood here, what's the damage, what's it done, what's it caused?
01:12 Well, most of it's caused damage from pieces of timber and that have come down,
01:18 plus also just the age of the wheels.
01:21 And the building itself is particularly well built, but when a wall of water comes down at you,
01:27 it comes down, but it's also, as we say, going at a fair old lick,
01:34 and it becomes a solid mass literally when it hits the wall.
01:38 So we can see you've had to do some repair work, the wall there, that's had to be repaired?
01:43 Yeah, the trust members, along with one or two other tradesmen,
01:48 and also an engineering firm who have given us a lot of time and energy to make a tool to lift the wheel.
01:55 That's it?
01:56 Lifting something 30 odd tonnes is not easy.
01:59 You have to lift the wheel?
02:01 Yeah, we've had to lift it, we've put new blocks underneath it.
02:04 Where do you even start with lifting that? I mean you're not getting a crane in here and stuff are you?
02:09 Well, that's it, that's the thing. We've only lifted about three or four inches.
02:14 And this tool has been specially made for the job.
02:18 It has enabled us to lift the wheel and take out pieces, but every time you do something else, something else drops out.
02:27 I guess working on it and having to manoeuvre it around,
02:30 I guess it gives you even more of a newfound respect for the initial build of the mill.
02:34 Oh absolutely, that's the reason why a lot of this has been done over the years.
02:37 It adds a respect for the sheer craftsmanship of these people.
02:41 And some of them all in just one person.
02:45 When was it actually like a working mill until?
02:48 Until Storm Dennis in 2020, we were milling two days before Storm Dennis.
02:54 And then of course Covid followed it, and then insurance problems.
03:00 So we should give a shout out to the Trust, they've got to look after it now.
03:05 Yes.
03:06 And it's quite important for us being here. Is it National Mills Week?
03:11 It is National Mills Weekend, this second weekend of February.
03:16 So what stage are we at then? So you've done some work to it, but it's not quite ready to be fully released is it at the minute?
03:26 No, no.
03:27 So what are we thinking needs to be done further?
03:30 It's a piece of string. Once you've solved one job, you have another job.
03:36 And we want to do it and put it right.
03:39 So you've had it turning, you might have it just a little test turn again in a bit.
03:43 But you've said it was making a few cracks that you weren't expecting.
03:46 Well it's a bit like us when we get to a certain age. She's 170 plus.
03:51 It will soon be a decade.
03:54 And it's called Daniel's Mill, where does the name Daniel come into it then?
03:58 It's purely a corruption of an old Anglo-Saxon name.
04:01 So if you split the name down, Don, Ton, Ton is the name for a mountain or a hill, such as the one above us.
04:09 Engs, England, the London Hill peoples.
04:13 So Donning's Mill simply means Mill belonged to the people of the hill.
04:16 Oh wow.
04:17 And our village is called Erd-Ing-Ton, so you can see the link there with the village as well.
04:23 Well thank you Peter, we might see if she gives us a creaky turn in a bit. Thank you sir.
04:28 Yeah, there's Trevor down there.
04:30 So the water's coming through from the pool, down into here.
04:48 Peter's just released it.
04:52 Hearing it slopping.
04:55 Quite a nice noise isn't it?
05:04 Yes.
05:05 Reminds me a bit of a steam train.
05:06 Almost.
05:08 [Sounds of water]
05:29 It's a little bit like a tug for foot.
05:31 A tug for foot, yeah?
05:32 Yeah, so it's equivalent to a fully made articulated wagon.
05:36 Yeah.
05:37 So what are your thoughts looking at her as she's spinning then?
05:42 Well, she's running a lot trimmer than she was earlier in the week.
05:47 Yeah.
05:48 But there's still a lot of work to be done.
05:50 Yeah.
05:51 So you're kind of, as she's spinning, you're looking effectively like if she's a buckled bicycle wheel, you know what I mean?
05:57 Yes, yeah. She's nowhere near perfect.
06:00 Yeah.
06:01 But she's looking at the cogs on there which are the same age as the rest of the wheel.
06:04 Yeah.
06:05 So she was built in 1855, so she's like us, going up to do creaks and groans.
06:10 Yeah, that's for sure.
06:12 She was the 100th, so you were the fifth, as I was born.
06:16 Yeah.
06:17 Ian, we're here at Daniel's Mill and an extra little treat are some lovely old classic cars.
06:22 This is your doing, you're responsible.
06:24 Yes, yes. I mean, people say I'm hardly organised, my first question, my first reply is always, "Depends."
06:32 Depends who's asking.
06:34 Depends on whether anything's gone wrong or not. Not quite true. No, I organise classic cars.
06:40 So you're from North Wales. We love it when people say nice things about where we live, so say some nice things about Shropshire.
06:48 It's a great, you know, Shropshire, these towns and classic cars, they're just a perfect mix, aren't they really?
06:54 Oh, absolutely. I mean, the countryside is superb. The lanes, but also the attractions.
07:00 I mean, you know, it's tremendous. The mill here in particular, I've been delighted to see it back in operation.
07:07 I've seen the wheel turning. Last year the wheel wasn't turning.
07:11 And of course the town, the town's brilliant. Last year the railway, the funicular railway wasn't functioning, and this year it is, which again is brilliant.
07:22 And that is a tremendous attraction for the town because obviously, you know, it's part of the history.
07:28 So if people want to find out more about the tours that you do, where do they search? What do they click on?
07:34 If they look up Country Lane Tours, it's just www.countrylanetours.co.uk
07:43 UK.