Sarehole Mill

Facilities:  Toilets   Wheelchair access difficult due to cobbles and uneven floor   Guided tour. 

Built in 1765, Sarehole Mill in Birmingham is one of only two surviving water mills in an area which once has 70 along its rivers! The Mill was constructed on the site of a previous one called Biddle's Mill, which dated back to 1540. There has been a water mill here for at least 460 years. Matthew Boulton had previously rented the mill before building his Soho Manufactory.

The mill was firstly used for corn grinding but has been used for blade grinding and even metal rolling during the industrial revolution. The building and its machinery give us an understanding of the lives that the Birmingham millers would have led. Visit the bakehouse, granary and see working demonstrations of the waterwheel and mill gears. The Millpond, dug over 250 years ago, drives the mill.

The surrounding countryside is beautiful and Shire Country Park is a must for bird watchers. The family of JR Tolkien lived opposite Sarehole Mill and it is thought that he played in this landscape as a child, later using it for inspiration in The Lord of the Rings.

Admisison to the Mill is free. Car park adjoining Sarehole Recreation ground. Coaches park in road.