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Coronavirus: Ancient mill resumes commercial flour production

    * 22 April 2020

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    * [69]Coronavirus pandemic

  Sturminster Newton Mill Image caption Sturminster Newton Mill is a
  popular tourist attraction but has been closed to visitors since the
  coronavirus lockdown began

  An ancient water mill which usually operates as a tourist attraction
  has started producing flour on a commercial scale to meet increased
  demand during the coronavirus lockdown.

  Sturminster Newton Mill, in Dorset, was mentioned in the Domesday Book
  of 1086 and became a working museum after ceasing industrial operations
  in 1970.

  But miller Pete Loosmore decided to turn it back into a full-time
  operation after local grocers reported shortages.

  He said the work had been a "pleasure".

  The current building on the River Stour was last reconstructed in the
  18th Century and the charity that runs it believes there has been a
  mill there since 1016.

  Mr Loosmore, whose grandfather was the miller at the site for about 50
  years, restored the machinery 26 years ago and it was reopened to
  provide heritage tours.
  Image caption Pete Loosmore has been running the mill for 26 years

  He said he and his fellow miller Imogen Bittner usually operated it on
  a part-time basis during the tourist season to produce enough flour for
  visitors.

  "We would have been milling, on the whole, about two days each month -
  that would have supplied us with enough flour to keep going throughout
  the whole of the season," he said.

  "And then suddenly we had lockdown - and our first impression was that
  we couldn't do anything with the mill because of social distancing."

'Back to life'

  However, a rise in the popularity of baking because of the government's
  advice to stay at home has caused [70]a spike in demand for flour.

  Mr Loosmore said the mill usually gets through a tonne of grain during
  the tourist season but this increased when local shops started
  reporting shortages of flour.

  "This year we have got through the whole of that tonne in two to three
  weeks and we're still chasing more and more grain," he said.

  "It's been nice to bring the place truly back to life and back into
  something like it used to be when it was working six days a week."
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More on this story

    * Coronavirus: Why is there a flour shortage in the UK?
      14 April 2020
    * Coronavirus: Flour mills working 'round the clock' to meet demand
      9 April 2020

Related Internet links

    * Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust

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