Newsletter - Spring 2004

Flour used at award-winning restaurant

Flour sales have continued to increase steadily over the last few months, helped by a now regular order from an award-winning restaurant in Tewin, nr. Welwyn.

Following an enquiry from Jason Fretwell, head-chef of "The Plume of Feathers", who saw the mill’s website and then came to see where the flour is produced, the restaurant now bakes a variety of breads made from Redbournbury Organic flour, including "Chunky Foccacia Bread", and "Granary" rolls.

The restaurant won "Pub Food of the Year 2003", and was a finalist in "Chef of the Year 2003". Jason is keen to use locally produced foods in the restaurant.

Why not visit the restaurant, which offers a superb menu, changed daily - well worth a visit!

Tel:(01438) 717265 for details

Festive Christmas Open-day

After the decision to abandon the regular Christmas craft-fair/food festival, due to lack of space, December 7th saw the first "Christmas Open-day". It was difficult to know how many visitors to expect on a cold, damp, winter’s day, but as so often, the day was an enormous success.

The mill’s festive decorations, and the wonderful sound of the "Ver Singers" made for a magical atmosphere - helped by a plentiful supply of mulled wine and hot mince-pies!

The Ver Singers, led by Gill Chapman, had an unusual venue, surrounded by sacks of flour, but their hearty singing of traditional carols was enjoyed by all. Many visitors even joined in!

The success of the event means we certainly hope to repeat it this year.

New Plans for 2004

The mill is now very nearly at the end of the massive restoration project that followed the 1987 fire. The fabric of the building has been rebuilt, the machinery restored, new machinery added, and the millstones set to work once again.

Most of this has been achieved through the dedicated hard work of the volunteers, and paid for through the fund-raising from open-days. The largest proportion of funds raised has been from sales of lunches and teas.

However, the increased use of the mill machinery, makes the building less suitable for serving refreshments, and it is now time for it to be used primarily as a working mill museum.

To this end, we have decided this year to stop serving lunches on our open-days, and simply offer coffee, cakes and cream-teas throughout the day.

The mill will be much more accessible to visitors and we hope to be able to mill flour more often whilst we are open, especially on Sunday afternoons.

We have also decided that the admission charge to the mill should apply whenever it is open, including Sunday afternoons (New Year’s Day, Residents First Weekend, and Heritage Weekend will continue to be free), this is to help defray the lost income from lunches, and to pay for the increasing costs associated with opening a historic building to the public particularly, these days, insurance.

Charges will remain the same as last year, and for regular visitors to the mill, a season ticket is excellent value for money at just £3 for adults and £2 for senior citizens & children. These allow entry to the mill for an entire year on all public open-days. Available on the door, or return the enclosed form.

Mill all lit-up!

The mill’s Crossley HD11 Oil engine has for some time been connected to a modern electric generator, donated by Newage-Stamford. This is to enable us to power the mill machinery.

However, when not driving the mill, the generator has plenty of capacity to keep the mill lit and the kitchen operating. Recently the volunteers have fitted some additional switchgear to allow us to change between mains voltage, and the generator.

There have been at least two occasions in the last few years when we have had a power-cut during an open-day; visitors can now continue to enjoy looking round the museum even during a blackout!

This Year’s Events

Enclosed is a list of this year’s open-days, which follow a similar pattern to previous years. We will also be holding some ticket only events:

27th March - Charity Bridge Evening. Supporting Keech Cottage Children’s hospice. £15 per pair, including sandwiches and coffee. Bring your own wine.

14th May - Good Taste at the Mill evening. Come and taste a selection of delicious, value for money wines from around the world and talk to the suppliers, and maybe a wine maker or two. The wines will be supplied by Flagship Wines - an independent wine merchant based in St Albans. They list distinctive delicious wines from around the world. Flagship Wines can make your wine buying easy at the Good Taste at the Mill evening - place an order on the night to take advantage of the special offers and receive a free gift worth £10. They will also arrange delivery to your door.

Also, taste a range of British farmhouse cheeses sourced from smaller scale producers and learn about the different categories of cheese being produced.Sample the range of cheeses made locally at Childwickbury Goats, St. Albans and others selected and matured by Neals Yard Dairy, complimented by a range of Mill breads. Cheese and bread also available for purchase on the night.

31st July - Jazz in July.

By popular demand, John Mole and the Ron Wilson Trio will be back to entertain us in the garden. Bring your own picnic from 6.30 pm and enjoy an evening of music and poetry. This was very popular last year, so get your tickets early, priced £11.50 per head.

These events are likely to be popular and are all ticket only - book early to avoid disappointment! Booking form enclosed.

Winter Open-days

New Year’s Day

Despite wet and windy weather, a record number of visitors trudged through the muddy fields to be warmed by the now famous mill soup! With carrier bags on their feet they enjoyed the annual "warmth and refreshment" whilst watching the millers at work!

Residents First Weekend

24th/25th January saw the second annual Residents First Weekend held in the St. Albans area. Residents were welcome to visit local attractions free of charge to remind them what there is to see on their doorstep. The mill was visited by some 400 people, most of whom had not been before - and who hopefully will come again with their friends - what good advertising!

Where can we buy flour?

Willows Farm Shop, London Colney.
Battlers Green Farm Shop, Radlett.
Wheathampstead Country Meats.
Pearce’s Farm Shop, Buntingford.
Fieldfare Organics (boxed deliveries), Berkhamsted.
Whitwell Village Stores & Post Office.
Little Berkhamsted Village Stores, nr. Hertford.
Kingsbury Mill Museum Shop, St.Albans.
The Cheese Stall, St. Albans Market (every Saturday).
St. Albans Farmers’ Market (2nd Sunday each month).
Hatfield Farmers’ Market (1st Saturday each month).
And, of course, from the mill direct! (telephone first if it is not an open-day)

If you have a local independent shop/bakery that you would like to see selling/using Redbournbury Mill Organic flour, please let us (or them!) know.

REDBOURNBURY MILL
By Philip Bell

Listen to the rumble of the mill wheel as it turns
Carressed by water flowing from the river as she yearns,
To be at one with the Miller, producing every hour,
From supply of endless wheat grains, to the finest flour.

River Ver, you pass us by,
Yet leave us with a gift;
Your water helps to turn the wheel
And makes our work so swift.

The clanking and creaking of timber and stone,
Turning and grinding, your age you’ll have shown.
But proud of your history, you’ve stood firm and fast,
And children of tomorrow, will learn of your past.

Redbournbury Millhouse
Stands stationary by the Ver,
A record of our history,
Within our hearts to stir.

Take a moment of motion and take it all in,
A moment of stillness, from what lies within;
You’ll treasure the memory, this history, this art,
And now you have added your own little part.

Did you know?

Watermills are the earliest form of processing machinery, and evidence of their existence goes back some 2000 years. The earliest mills were simple wooden structures with a horizontal waterwheel connected to a single pair of small millstones. As technology progressed, mills were often updated or even rebuilt, as Redbournbury was in 1694 by Samuel Clover. At this time, almost all of the machinery within the mill was made from wood; including the waterwheel, shafts and gears. It was not until the industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that it became possible for iron machinery to be used. Redbournbury was "modernised" in circa.1850, and fitted with all the iron wheels and shafts still used today. However, the production of iron gear-teeth was a difficult & imprecise process so they were often made to mesh with another gear with wooden teeth (made from hornbeam, apple, beech, or oak). Each wooden tooth is shaped and fitted by hand (an enormous job after the 1987 fire). Driving machinery in this way reduced wear & noise, and in the event of a gear-tooth breaking, made it quicker and easier to repair.

Annual Spring Clean!

Sat. 20th March, 9.30am. After the winter, and before we open again in March, the mill is in need of a day of thorough cleaning and maintenance. Volunteers needed! Any time you can spare will be much appreciated - lunch provided! Come and see the parts of the mill not normally accessible! Please return the enclosed slip if interested.

A chilly day at St.Albans Farmers’ Market