Blue Flower

The woodburning stove for the railway wagon had arrived in the workshop so Eddie and David rubbed it down and took it apart.  They and Graham then cleaned the internal parts with wire brushes. Graham cleaned the glass by rubbing with a wet cloth and ashes, then he masked the glass and sprayed the stove with heatproof black paint, he then painted the lower chimney after it was scoured with the abrasive wheel.

Last week Debra told us the glass display cabinet fixed to the wagon wall was the wrong way round, as the hinge should be at the top to avoid it falling open and injuring someone, so Eddie and David removed it and turned it round.

Steel pads were welded to the seven wagon stands to fit the underside profile of the wagon frame and floor, these were then painted.

After having lunch outside sitting on our home made seat all five of us went to the mill to uncover the brick areas ready for the photographic group visit on Sunday. On the way we saw several Egrets and noticed the river level is extremely high with a very fast flow, adjacent fields are flooded in many places. At the mill the river level is almost upto the brick floor and on the downstream side the water goes right under the wheel, almost submerging the paddles.

We uncovered all the floors, the hammer mill, cistern, millstones and blacksmith area. Soil was removed from the cistern top then we looked in the spoil heaps and found several nails, pieces of glass, an oyster shell, metal hook, small bones and a piece of pottery. An old half-penny from 1960 was found on the downstream brick floor after it was uncovered. We checked the wheel was chocked in position, as if the river gets any higher we thought it might start turning.

When we got back to the wagon Dennis ground the bottom frame to fit the stands and we saw a Grey Wagtail on the roof, we usually only see Pied Wagtails at the maltings.

We have decided to go ahead with further testing of the human skull bone found at the mill, isotope analysis will be carried out to find out where the person lived and what diet they ate. We will also be having a stand at Narborough Village Fair on Sunday 31 July.

Graham Bartlett           Interactive Plan          Volunteer          Previous    Next   

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