AN EYE-CATCHING water wheel at an historic mill in Whitchurch is set to turn again for the first time after three years of painstaking repair.

The water wheel which is regarded as the heartbeat of the Whitchurch Silk Mill and essential to visitors enjoying their visit, will start turning again from April 1, just in time for the Mill’s busy season.

It had fell silent in 2020 just before the pandemic as its axle slipped through its bronze bearing.

The wheel has been jammed in a fixed position since then.

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Nigel Spender of G and H Spender, Silk Mill’s engineer, replaced the bearing.

He ground the worn axel to a mirror finish and restored every part on the ‘governor’, which raises and lowers the sluice and diverts the water of the River Test to power the wheel.

He and his team removed corrosion, re-manufactured intricate gears and milled, turned, ground and completed a comprehensive list of repairs.

It began with replacing the bearing, but each layer of the wheel that Nigel unpicked revealed another extensive list of essential repairs – all necessary to allow the wheel to turn.

Repairs began in 2020, but difficulties caused by the pandemic, inflationary prices and the closure of numerous vital suppliers made this restoration increasingly tricky.

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During this time many, many foundries and engineering businesses closed.

The Mill raised funds on the social media-based Crowdfunder website to restore the iconic wheel. Thanks to the generosity of members of the public, the fundraising team raised the money to restore the wheel to its former glory.

Whitchurch Silk Mill director Sue Tapliss said: “Those who visit Whitchurch Silk Mill can follow in the footsteps of generations of weavers and see and hear the water wheel in action.

"It would have been a real loss to us, the public and the country if we couldn’t restore it to working order. We must do all we can to protect places like this and preserve the skills that keep them in working order to inspire our love of the past. Whitchurch Silk Mill is one very special place.”

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With its working Victorian looms, Whitchurch Silk Mill is a rare survivor that beguiles visitors and transports them back in time.

Located on the banks of the River Test, it is one of the last working silk mills in the UK and a working museum since 1990.

It is the oldest working silk mill in the UK and has been making silk for over two centuries. The Mill is now a popular visitor attraction, still weaving silk on Victorian machinery.

Many TV and film stars have worn silks woven by the Mill in popular period dramas, including James Cameron’s classic film ‘Titanic’.