Warm white dimmable GU10 spotlights illuminate the finished “medieval wall,” modern timber repairs and plasterwork. Beyond lies the old millers office; part of the now semi-detached Flitwick Mill House and forming a brick internal wall.
The much earlier medieval timber frame west wall of the mill is separated by 150mm of sheep’s wool and posh 21st century vapour membrane.
Walls windows and ceilings come together in perfect harmony reflecting the past and incorporating the future. Introducing top notch insulation and modern high performance sliding sash windows with oak window boards throughout the building transforms the energy required.
This is a corner of the master bedroom looking out towards the north east across the fields to Maulden.
Transformation of the stone floor is well underway; the walls are finished and the stone furniture is elsewhere being refurbished. There’s a marked difference in wear on the two stones in this picture. The two different wall thicknesses are evident along the back wall. Bricks below; bearing the brunt of the vertical loads of milling; together with structural and weather loads imposed upon and by the timber upper structures of the building.
Formerly the eastern extremity of the medieval 4 bay mill showing the older roof angle to the left. New oak flooring comprises foot wide planks and traditional cut nails. This wall formed a bin boundary when the Victorians extended the mill. Its now the west wall of the master bedroom.
The raised floor with panoramic windows enables the viewer to see the structure of the building from within and from outside. The curiously different level in this area results from the early Victorian integration of two or more buildings. The much earlier four bay two storey mill is behind us in this view and we are looking east out to the SSSI of Flitwick Moor. It is assumed that the raised area here represents the floor of the second storey of an adjacent corn store that was absorbed into the Victorian mill when it was extended. We’ve kept the different floor levels throughout and this level comprises foot wide oak planking. It’s a great place to read a book or watch the world go by.
Master bathroom walls and floors. The doorway looks into the master bedroom which currently gives view through the partitions beyond each of the bays in view were each formally separated into two bins. There were no windows on the bin floor level as this was formally grain storage.
Timber linings replicate the old bins. The whole of the second floor comprised a set of storage bins that separated supplies of raw produce. There were no windows and a complete mismatch of shapes, sizes and roof heights. The storage floor held up to eighty tons of wheat in 18 compartments.
Here the different floor heights are evident and we’ve replicated the materials and structure of the original materials albeit less crudely because it’s now living accommodation for humans rather than corn and the rats & mice that fed on it.
We’ve also standardised as far as possible on reasonable head height and regard ourselves as sensibly short people. Two thirds of the bin floor area has been lowered about six inches to facilitate this.