Bunbury Mill is a nineteenth century watermill and stands on the foundations of a previous mill, which had burned down in 1844. In fact, the same site has been used for the past four centuries for corn milling. So what is it that makes this place so special for the building of a corn mill. The answer is water.
The mill is located alongside a river, the Gowy, and lies in a natural hollow of the landscape. This can be seen very clearly when walking along the footpath leading from St. Boniface Church to Mill Lane.
The working life of the mill ended in 1960, when a sudden and violent storm caused trees to be uprooted and fall into the river. One such tree lodged in the weir gate. The Miller, Tom Parker, was unable to free the tree, and could only watch helplessly as the weir gate burst and the banks of the millpond collapsed, flooding the mill and its machinery. The eleven foot (3.6 m) overshot waterwheel, inside the mill, had turned for the last time, or so it was thought.
In 1969 the site, on which the mill stands, was purchased by the local authority for the construction of a Water Treatment Works. The earth removed was deposited into the millpond, infilling it. In 1974, the Government create the Regional Water Boards, which took over the administration of all the privately and publicly owned water utilities, and United Utilities (previously known as the North West Water Authority) came into being. When United Utilities officials arrive on site it is the works they have come to inspect, not the dilapidated building of the former corn mill that they have also inherited. However, the building was restored, and the waterwheel is made to turn once again.
Today, the millpond is much smaller in scale than the original, and, because of this, the mill can only operate for a few hours each day. However, by looking around, one can still trace the boundary of the former millpond, which extended from the present car park and along the line of tall trees now bordering a meadow and the works. The old weir gate has been replaced by a modern one, designed to prevent flooding. When the millpond has reached a certain height, the surplus water flows over the top. Another gate, at the side of the millpond in front of the mill controls the water entering the building, by means of a leat under the road, to turn the waterwheel. This gate is closed when the mill is not working and the millpond will then quickly fill up once more. Where the water flows towards the waterwheel, it is called the headrace. Having turned the waterwheel the water travels along another channel, called the tailrace and eventually rejoins the Gowy on its journey, from the spring in the Peckforton Hills, where it began, to its destination, the Mersey.
Dennis Buchanan
