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The origins of Burcott Mill date back over 1000 years to a recording in the Domesday Book (1086). Today, it is one of the few remaining
examples of a working watermill operating in the UK.
Back in 1900, there were over 10,000 water and windmills in Britain, whilst today fewer than 50 fully working water powered flour
mills remain.
At Burcott Mill, we run a commercial business. The high quality organic flour we produce
supplies many local hotels, restaurants and bakeries across Somerset.
We are also a working museum, as the flour we produce
is handcrafted using the same
methods and machinery that were employed 150 years ago.
The mill takes its water from the River Axe through a 400 metre mill leat into the mill pond. It is the weight
of this water - not the current of the river - that turns the waterwheel that, through a series of large Victorian
cogs, drives the giant millstones that grind the flour.
The mill is open to the public at weekends from Easter to September for people to experience
how flour was made back in the Victorian age, observing how the enormous power of the waterwheel
is harnessed to produce the delicate fine organic flour.
There is also an opportunity to taste the
quality of the flour in a variety of homemade breads, scones and cakes in our tearoom.
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