A fully restored 13th-century working flour mill within 20 yards of the Cotswold Way on the Stanway Estate, with a 24-foot Victorian waterwheel and stoneground flour for sale on site.
Stanway Watermill stands in Church Stanway, 100 yards from Stanway House and within 20 yards of the Cotswold Way as it crosses the estate on Stage 2. The Stanway Estate is known to have had four watermills as early as 1291, used over the centuries for fulling wool cloth, papermaking, sawmilling, electricity generation, and grinding flour and animal feed. The present mill was restored as a working corn mill between 2002 and 2009 and reopened by the Prince of Wales in October of that year.
The centrepiece is a massive 24-foot overshot waterwheel - the 8th largest in England - cast by local ironmasters James Savory of Tewkesbury around 1850. It drives traditional cast-iron machinery and heavy French burr-quartz millstones to produce stoneground wholemeal flour milled from wheat grown on the estate less than a mile away. Visitors can watch the mill working, view the idyllic millpond, and buy a bag of flour to take home.
The mill is open to the public at the same times as Stanway House: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm to 5pm in June, July, and August, and Thursdays from 10am to 12pm in all other months. Admission is £3 for adults and £2 for children; a combined ticket covering the house, garden, fountain, and mill is available. The building has three floors with stairs and no lift, so it is not suitable for wheelchairs. Dogs are not permitted inside but are welcome in the grounds. Confirm times and tickets on the Stanway House website before you divert. The address is Stanway, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 5PQ.
