Rise and Fall of the Millstone
Full details
| Authors & editors | |
| Publisher | Cereal Foods World |
| Year of publication | 2019 Vol. 64, No. 4 pp |
| Languages | |
| Medium | Digital Note: Copyright restrictions mean the attachment below only contains part of the publication. The full document is available for inspection at the Mills Archive Research and Education Centre. |
| Edition | 1 |
| Topics | Cereal processes > Flour milling > Millstone milling |
| Tags | |
| Scope & content | Abstract Millstones have been used for more than two millennia for the milling of cereals. They were a development from primitive, hand operated querns and have now largely been replaced by the use of chilled iron rollers. The sources of motive power for milling moved from human to animal to water and then wind. The arrival of steam power helped to usher in the roller mill age. Increased demand for white flour and the rise in imported, harder wheat accelerated the decline of the millstone as ever larger mills were built near ports. From the perspective of a millstone miller, who spent 30 years running the last working watermill on the River Thames, my greatest regret is the progressive loss of traditional craft skills such as those required to dress millstones and sense when the wood and iron machinery is not quite running properly. Fortunately the health food fashion of the late 1900s has ensured the use of millstones continues but on a very small scale. |
| Web URL | Vol. 64, No. 4 pp |