Later this month, Sidbury Mill upstream from Sidmouth will be taking part in the National Gardens Scheme, opening up its grounds to the public on Sunday 22nd June.
As the NGS pages say,
“The gardens and grounds of Sidbury Mill extend to 6 acres. As well as diversity of plants and trees, it is a haven for wildlife. The gardens range from a perennial, rose and shrub garden, a greenhouse and vegetable patch, to mature woodland through which the River Sid flows. A ‘woodland walk’ encompasses many elements of the gardens through which the visitor will appreciate the plants and wildlife…
“The mill gardens are surrounded by water with the mill leat on one side and Devon’s shortest river, the delightful Sid, on the other. The area is teeming with wildlife; birds, from kingfishers to buzzards, and plenty of bees and insects which are attracted to the wildflower meadow. A ‘woodland walk’ leads you through the different areas of the garden including specimen trees and places to pause and observe the wildlife.
“There has been a mill in Sidbury since the 13th century and today it is a still a working water mill (the wheel can be seen in the back garden). Surrounded by the beautiful East Devon countryside the gardens have been awarded a ‘Wildlife friendly garden’ award by the Devon Wildlife Trust and the owners received an RHS Banksian Medal for Horticulture in 2023.”
The excellent pages on Sidbury Mill in Sidbury on the Sidbury Village Website give a lot of interesting detail on the history of the Mill and the milling of the flour, still done today.
And there is more on the Sidbury Mill, Sidbury pages of The Mills Archive including impressive photography and further references.
Finally, here’s an interesting view taken by Chris Allen back in 2010:
This mill with a 14 foot diameter breast shot wheel was restored in 2003 and is open on National Mills Weekend and other times by arrangement. This view is from the edge of an adjoining cricket pitch. A nearby footpath also gives a glimpse of the top of the wheel.
Sidbury Mill © Chris Allen :: Geograph Britain and Ireland
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