| Union Mill, Cranbrook Registered charity no.1031879
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RENOVATIONS STAGE 2 - Repairs to Smock and Painting - COMPLETED May 2021 In early 2021, the whole mill was scaffolded so that repairs to windows and doorfames could be carried out, followed by complete painting. Redec, the company responsible, decided to add wedge-shaped tops to the windows (photo below left) so that rain ran off, not back towards the weather-boarding as before. During August 2021, the scaffolding around the smock was removed, giving access to the staging. Rotten window sills and all the slats on the staging have been replaced with oak, which had to be imported from south west France, which caused a delay. The staging metalwork was cleaned and repainted, the chicken wire on the guard rails replaced, and then the lower scaffolding was finally removed. The brick base had to be repaired in several places and then repainted with special paint from Spain – another cause of delay.
To CELEBRATE the completion of Stage 2, we organised a BUGLE CALL
STAGE 3 NEARING COMPLETION
The Shutters being made and painted above.
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Members, friends, and neighbours were invited to the mill on a cool afternoon at the end of August. The scaffolding was still in place, and from a platform around the cap, our chairman addressed the crowd of about 60 with a brief history of the mill (with a megaphone), including the story of how, when the mill was completed in 1814 by the millwright, James Humphrey, his nephew stood on top of the cap and played a trumpet. On this occasion, Max Chesters (right), who lives on the Hill, opposite the mill, played (very competently) a short fanfare by the French baroque composer, Charpentier, and was warmly applauded. After an encore, the onlookers were treated to glasses of bubbly. The proceedings were recorded for posterity by an overhead drone, courtesy of HawkEye Aerial Media of Maidstone and this was used to make a video of the occasion, which you can watch by clicking on the photo below.
