Two Horses - Watermill Blog
19th May 2009

We can now mount two horses at Shelsley watermill, but neither of them can be ridden.

In watermills the  horse is the frame that holds the grain hopper above the millstones, and our repair work has now got far enough that we can assemble them over both pairs of stones. 

As well as mounting the horse on the downstream tun, Jim and Richard fixed the sack hooks that Headley made in place on the back boards above the two flour bins.

Bob and John were delighted to find that the long awaited delivery of lime-wash had arrived. With the weather proving to a bit unpredictable they could stay inside in the dry all day.

Tony, however, dodged the showers to do some proper gardening, filling the old concrete troughs with bedding plants to add a touch of colour around the place.

He also made good use of the petrol strimmer to keep the grass down to a reasonable level.

Dick had made a handle for the winnower over the weekend and he fixed this in place and re-assembled the drive gears. Now the handle is in place we can get an idea of how much effort it took to turn the fan. Not something the writer would be able to do for very long but he wasn't bred to a life of physical work!

Inside the stable Martyn, Kim, Jonathan and Dick worked to shape and fix steel mesh to the timber frame of the machine guards.

As you can see the mesh does not restrict the view of the machines but it is strong enough and stiff enough to keep visitors a safe distance from the moving bits.

By the end of the day the chaff cutter had been almost completely protected. The beet shredder will get the same treatment in the next few working days.

After the showery morning, the afternoon was almost summery, with the sun breaking through the clouds and brightening the views across the valley.

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