大象传媒

The main water wheel is again turning at Exeter's historic Cricklepit Mill - more than 30 years after it stopped.

It follows two years of renovation work by the conservation charity, the Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT), which bought the mill in 2004.

The site goes back several hundreds years. In fact, there has been a corn mill on this spot since the 13th century.

The view of the mill from outside

The internal water wheel and machinery at the current mill date from the mid 19th century. They were made by at Bodley's Foundry, which was just across the road from the mill.

The mill building was badly damaged by fire in 1999.

The Devon Wildlife Trust bought the mill with the financial backing of Exeter City Council and English Heritage.

Some 拢425,000 has been spent renovating the mill, which is to become the trust's new headquarters.

The work on getting the mill wheel back in action has been completed by traditional millwright Martin Watts.

Martin Watts at work

Martin said: "Cricklepit Mill is a remarkable survival, so close to the city centre.听

"It has been a lovely project to work on and I can't wait to complete the rest of the work so that it will be able to grind corn again."

The trust's relocation project manager, Charlie Taylor, says it's great to see the wheel in action again after all these years.

"Water was critical to how this area developed and restoring the mill wheels is an essential part of the project and the industrial story of this site.

"It is fantastic to see this stage of the work complete."

DWT's building and adaptation works, including restoring the second external wheel, will start in October 2006 for completion and occupation by Autumn 2007.听听听

Exhibition areas and a wildlife garden are central to the trust's Exeter Wild City project, allowing more people to access and learn about the important wildlife of the county.