There is documentary evidence of there being a mill at Muncaster going back to 1455, fed from a weir on the river Mite over a mile up the river. Rather than have a “top pond” the water is stored in the long leat which feeds a simple overshot water wheel powering 3 sets of stones, although in recent times only the left set of stones was used for flour.
The derelect mill was purchased in the 1970s by Lake District Estates – the parent company of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway – to be restored as a track side attraction. The millers (who leased it) then supplied organic stoneground flour (assorted wholemeal, white, brown, semolina and bran) and provided tours of the mill. It also featured in the Thomas the Tank Engine book (see illustration below).
Thanks go to Dave Priestley, son of Ernie the last miller (pictured below), for the notes and the photos. They were taken in the late 1990s at low resolution and relatively small image size.
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- Backed up leat – prior to milling
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- Belt drive power take offs – to power other machinery
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- Central stone drive shaft with pit wheel behind
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- Close up of water wheel when milling
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- ‘Clutch’ of central stone drive shaft
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- Down train approaching mill
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- Drive shaft entering below the mill stones
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- Outflow entering the River Mite – protected against tidal backflow by a loose ‘flap’
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- Ernie Priestley – the last miller of Muncaster
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- Fire hole for the drying room
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- Flour chute on the left stone set – the primary stones used in the mill
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- Flour sieve – fed from upper floor – splits to white, brown, semolina, bran
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- Flour sieve feed chute (on upper floor). The rope at the front is the on/off switch for the water wheel
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- Full pen trough when milling – leads water to top of water wheel
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- Jigger box in front of middle stone set
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- Jock the New Engine
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- Left stone set drive shaft (disengaged)
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- Mill sign
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- Mill top yard (and Molly the dog)
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- The Mill from across the River Mite
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- Oats the cat in the mill doorway
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- Paddle sluice – redirects water to the overspill or the pen trough
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- Pit wheel and central stone drive shaft (disengaged)
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- River Mite is tidal at the mill – no milling when the tide is high
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- Sieve in front of unused third (right) stone set
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- Sluice gate – used to back up water up the leat before milling
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- Tail race before it passes under the railway
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- Top of central stone set
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- Top of left stone set
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- Up train passing the Mill
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- Pen trough entering the wheel house
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- Overspill waterfall – when not milling
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- Wheel house when milling
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- Wheel house when not milling
