(left) AS NEW - (right) 10 YEARS after restoration
World Class
Monument
The historic watermill is River's best-known landmark, and
Dover's favourite beauty spot for nearly two centuries. It
is also a world-class historic monument - of all the
"automatic flour mills" built on several continents, it is
the only one to survive with all its fascinating system of
machinery complete.
Saved
In the late 'eighties, local groups moved mountains to save
the crumbling Mill by raising money to restore it to working
order. Since 1990, it has enjoyed a new life as a working
watermill museum - giving a marvellous educational
experience to thousands of schoolchildren, as well as giving
many visitors young and old a glimpse back into our
forgotten Victorian heritage.
Award-winning
This achievement of our community has been recognised by
numerous awards - most recently, the SE England Tourist
Boards Award for 'Tourism & the Environment', and the
Association for Industrial Archaeology's prestigious
President's Award for outstanding presentation of the Mill
to visitors.
Why a face lift was
needed
Ten years after being restored, the lovely old mill badly
needs a face lift: inside, to improve its displays to the
standard expected by today's visitors and to meet new
demands of the school curriculum; and outside, to remove the
mould and repaint the wooden planking before deterioration
sets in. See full
details of Operation Face Lift budget
Running
costs
As you can imagine, it's not cheap to open a large old
building to the public. The local volunteers - all unpaid -
who give their spare time to this task get no subsidy for
running costs from local councils or the government. They do
a magnificent job in managing to pay their way and break
even from year to year.
What's happening about the
Cottages?
In 1995 the Mill was awarded Lottery funds to buy the
adjoining mill yard and millworkers' cottages - all of which
went to the previous owners. The development of the cottages
waits on the outcome of another Lottery bid. The Mill Trust
was prudently managed - as it has to be - but depends
entirely on its visitor income, and had no large cash
reserves to pay for a face-lift at any time.
How much was
needed
£21,500 is needed to cover this badly needed work.
See: full budget
for the appeal;
Mill's recent
accounts.
Dover District Council's Millennium Fund has offered £9,000 towards the cost, if the Mill Trust can raise the rest. After generous promises of donations, free labour and gifts of materials, £4,500 in cash is still needed urgently. Under the conditions of the grant, the work must be completed by January 2001 - your gift is needed by 1st October, so scaffolding can go up in time.
The Public response was
generous.
Your £10 painted a plank... £200 bought a
replacement window...
- As a small "thank you" for your generous donation, the Mill Trust offered you:
- a limited edition printed cut-out 3D model of the Mill, by a local artist
- a free family ticket to tour the Mill, perhaps to keep until you next have visitors (valid until 31st July 2001)
Local patrons of this appeal: Mrs. Grace Hinder, Cllr. Mrs. Sue Nicholas
Public donations gave all that was required, much faster than expected.
Work still outstanding*:
- There is no new exhibition.
- The sound trail equipment been installed is still not working.
- There is over £2,000 worth of council grant unspent
- The Mill treasurer not yet *claimed the tax refund on your donations - worth more than £1,000.