Above left: Peter Jenkins. Above right: Don Pearce, Keith Mackenzie, Peter Jenkins, Gerry Dunster and Fred Maillardet.


in the late 1950s before moving to Sussex in 1960. He remembers first seeing the Mill “totally bare” and has delighted in “watching the building gradually come to life.” He speaks for many of the volunteers when he cites his reasons for joining as the “sheer enjoyment in involvement with creating something that should be done.”


Don Pearce came from an


electrical engineering background and with his neighbour, former BT engineer Gerry Dunster, are two of the longest serving members, working since 1990. In those days there were just five volunteers; first estimates were that the job could be completed in seven years for £7,000. In reality, the monumental task took 30 years and a £100,000, all spent on


94 SUSSEX LIVING FOR MID SUSSEX April 2011


materials as all labour has been freely given. Pictures of the derelict mill show


a sorry skeleton; it was pure vision coupled with solid dedication that re-built the Mill as you see today. Fred Maillardet, who initially joined Oldland to secure a DEFRA grant, calls Oldland a “large, visible machine, symbolic of Sussex, elegant


“Open Day brings hundreds of locals together. For those who stay on to volunteer it is a labour of love that can be passed on to future generations.”


and simple,” a point to consider when you see the Mill working on a windy day. Creaking and moving like a living, breathing machine, it needs human interaction to maintain its life. Being inside the mill while the sweeps are turning is a visceral experience as the floor judders beneath you and the cogs turn with handfitted precision. It’s the sweeps that now need


new volunteers to help paint them. Early this May, one pair will be removed for an overhaul, leaving the other pair until next year. The team would love to see some younger, long-term volunteers continue after the sweeps have been maintained; it is the intention to regularly mill enough flour to produce bread. A local speciality baker is keen to use the flour


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