Pann Mill as it was in 1930.

Charles Rangeley-Wilson writes:

This coming weekend is National Mills Weekend and to celebrate Pann Mill, the last working mill on the River Wye in Buckinghamshire (the lost river in my book Silt Road) will be turning its wheels on Sunday 12th from 11am until 5pm. There will be milling demonstrations and wholewheat flour for sale, as well as cakes made using Pann Mill flour.

There has been a mill on this site since 1086 when the Domesday Book recorded its presence, but most likely since long before that. The name comes, not from any pagan god, but from Roger de Panel who was given the mill by Henry II for his services during the crusades. Over the centuries Pann Mill turned its wheels for many owners, grinding corn and even animal feed, until it closed in 1967. The mill was more or less demolished in the early Seventies, but was restored and re-awakened by the High Wycombe Society and in the year 2000 ground corn for the first time in a quarter of a century, reawakening 1000 years of history.

Pann Mill is an easy stroll from High Wycombe station, which is itself only a thirty minute train ride from Marylebone … so this coming Sunday if you are kicking your heels, fancy a cake and a stroll by a river and wish to join the national celebration of our milling heritage, pop along and watch the wheels turn at Pann Mill, High Wycombe.

Silt Road, Caught by the River’s Book of the Month, can be found in our shop, priced £13.00