Caudwell's Mill Craft Centre

About Caudwell's Mill Craft Centre

Caudwell's mill at Rowsley is a unique, grade II listed historic roller flour mill. Powered by water from the river Wye, a mill has stood on this site for at least 400 years. The present mill was built in 1874 by John Caudwell and run as a family business for over a century.

At Caudwell's, grain is milled by the same process used at the giant modern mills which provide most of the flour for our bread today, but here the production is on a scale and at a speed that is both easier to understand and which does not damage the flour.

The mill is a complete working automatic "machine" on four floors and usually runs daily. Most of the machinery is earlier than 1914 and is still driven by belts (often leather) and pulleys from line shafts. Elevators and Archimedean screws abound.

The mill is powered by two water turbines, the larger installed in 1914 to drive the flour mill and the smaller, installed in 1898, for the provender mill and which, today, also generates the electricity used in the mill.

There are numerous displays, descriptions and exhibitions throughout the mill to make your visit enjoyable and informative. It is ideal to show children those fascinating mechanical features not to be seen elsewhere and to explore how wheat is turned into flour. Stroll along the head race nature trail or around Rowsley village.