Skeletons, Sluices & Walls - caring for our historic buildings
We’ve had flurry of activity at our historic sites – from archaeological discoveries to essential conservation work, and even the restoration of a miniature mill. Each project, in its own way, has helped preserve and deepen the stories held in these remarkable places.
As well as the upkeep of the historic watermill at Hinxton we also maintain the sluices on the River Cam, which is necessary to generate a head of water to drive the mill. However, to avoid flooding the village we also need to open the sluices if there are high flows in the river. This is complicated by a road through the river just downstream, meaning that if we open the sluice gates it could wash a car away! So, the road must be closed to traffic first and only the County Council can do that.
For nearly 40 years, we have been incredibly grateful to local farmer Martin Fordham for opening and closing the sluices on our behalf. Now in his 80s, Martin decided it was time to rest his arms at the start of the season. He has been passing on his knowledge to our estate team and willing volunteers in the village, so that we continue to have enough water to operate the mill but not so much we cause a flood.
There is a wooden footbridge over the top of the sluice, which forms part of the public footpath riverside walk. The bridge had become rotten, and our estate team has done a great job replacing the large wooden beams – a physically demanding task that speaks to the unseen care required to maintain heritage landscapes like these. Thanks to a local workman we have also repaired the door of the mill and installed a stone step to help keep water – and determined rodents – from entering.
You can see the work we have been doing and enjoy the mill in action on Sunday 6 July, 2.30- 4.30pm. We are currently trying to raise £20,000 for repairs to the mill, mainly to the brickwork. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated so far, raising over £5,000. Please help if you can by donating here.
At Wandlebury, we are delighted to have been awarded a grant of £83,000 from the government Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs towards £105,000 costs of repairing the ‘ring wall’. This is the 18th century garden wall, which had fallen into a state of neglect and which our charity has been restoring for 25 years! We have one final section to repair, and we are really pleased that we now have the funding to do this work. It requires the use of lime mortar, which needs warm temperatures and so the work can only take place until September. It’s unlikely our specialist contractors will get it all done this year, but we hope to make a start.
Also at Wandlebury, we were excited to welcome back the archaeology team from Cambridge University for two weeks of focused excavation. Digging over a dozen test pits they uncovered an array of fascinating finds. These ranged from human remains, to Iron Age pottery to more recent objects from the early 20th century – painting a layered picture of life on the hill over the centuries. They will publish a report of their findings and what they tell us, and we will share it with our members in due course.
At Bourn Windmill, restoration took on a more personal and unusual form. A beautiful four-foot model of the mill, built in the 1960s by a local GP and recently donated to the charity, arrived in pieces. Thanks to the skilled volunteers at Cambourne Shed, who devoted hours of careful effort to the task, the model is now not only restored but once again fully functional – a small but evocative celebration of community craftsmanship and local history.
