History

The Strand Mill, Dawlish

The mill was originally built in 1717 and was constructed mainly to produce flour. Due to a serious fire in the early 1800s the mill was rebuilt and completed in 1825. The mill continued to operate until 1959.

When the mill was in operation it was not unknown for up to 80 tons of wheat to be delivered in a day by horse and cart. All the power for lifting and grinding etc. came from the wheel by series of belts. Should one of the belts break or come off the whole building shook.

Water to turn the wheel came from the Dawlish Brook, although now the wheel turns by pumping water from the sump pit of the wheel.

Nearly all of the internal machinery and mill stones are still in place and part are viewable from the Tea Room on the ground floor. Other parts are on the first, second and loft floors and could be viewed by appointment.

The wheel has many unique features

Firstly it is very rare for a mill to be in the centre of a town. The wheel itself is believed to be one of the largest in the country.

The wheel is what is called a pitchback whereby the water enters at “11 o’clock” and consequently it turns anti-clockwise.

There is a herring-bone power exchange gearing wheel inside the building, quite rare in wheel construction.

Gearing teeth are made of apple wood and are strong and easy to repair.

Restoration

The project to restore the wheel was started in 1997 by a small group of local people who have been raising funds over the last few years by sponsorship, donations and various events. In 1999 a team of volunteers cleared out the sump of the wheel and there is an ongoing project to clear the leat feeding the wheel.

Teignbridge District Council offered a donation of £10,000 in January 2003 from their conservation budget. This money not only had to be match funded but also had to be spent in that financial year. An all out effort was then made with the help of the Dawlish Conservation Trust.

£5,000 was raised and this was match funded by the council so work was started. More sponsorship followed and with the help of an “Awards for All” lottery grant the target was reached just before the end of the financial year.

Work began in the middle of November 2003 and had to be completed before the next visitor season when the Tea Room uses the yard to seat people.

The wheel was restarted on 5th May 2004 by the Mayor of Dawlish, Cllr Bill Farrow with the wheel pumps turned on by Mr Bill Strickland, who turned it off some 45 years ago when he worked at the mill.