The early waterwheel pit on the side of the mill has been refurbished. Some of the stonework has been rebuilt with lime mortar and new timbering is in place. The pit is 22 feet long, 9 or 10 feet deep and 28 inches wide, and is reputed to have housed a 16 foot diameter wheel.

The shrouds (or outer rings) of a 16 foot wheel, manufactured by William Willmitt of Wellington, Somerset about 1850, have been purchased from Wigdon Mill, near Okehampton. The wheel was originally supplied to Chubworthy Farm, Raddington, Somerset.

New hubs (or naves) have been fabricated from steel as have new steel spokes and the plates to fix them to the shrouds. New alloy steel buckets have been fitted to the shrouds and the complete wheel has been test assembled horizontally on a jig.

The waterwheel has now been dismantled from the jig and reassembled in the old wheelpit adjacent to the mill. Water is supplied to the top of the wheel via a wooden launder from the pond behind the earth and stone dam just above the mill. The wheel is now fully operational; it is well balanced, runs true and develops about one horsepower.

A set of miniature lightweight Cornish stamps with four heads are being constructed in the style of typical stamps. Cornish stamps are known to have been use at Kelly Mine and two sizes of square stamp head have been found on the site. These stamps are modelled on the smaller head size. They are located in the mill and will be driven from the new waterwheel. The stamps are nearly finished and a belt drive from the waterwheel is being implemented.

August 2010

New waterwheel being assembled on a wooden jig. The steel buckets were affixed to the shroud segments which were then bolted together.

New water wheel in wheelpit outside the mill. The launder delivers water to the top of the wheel.

Cornish stamps with square heads at the bottom of the risers. The stamps are under construction and the drive from the waterwheel is to the right.