Page 56 - Book 3 - (barcoded)

54
The Wylder Valley
His father had taught him how to use a small grinding stone on the upper floor.
Years ago, the bustling mill was powered by a huge wooden waterwheel with paddles. The wheel was turned by the force of river water flowing underneath. The water pushed against the paddles and as the wheel turned, it operated machinery inside the mill. Cyril remembered how he and his brother played on the huge millstone, kicking grain and flour at each other.
The nearby village of Wyldersham, as it was then, expanded. To prevent reoccurring floods in the meadow, the river was re-routed and the owner closed the mill. It had been vacant for a long time until Farmer Harrison's family bought the building to store grain and farming implements.