Open days
National Mills Sunday, 12 May 2024, 11am – 4pm
Visitors to Burton Mill will see heritage milling in action! We will be milling stoneground wholemeal and white bread flour throughout the day. Our 1880s Roller Mill will be crushing oats and the restored Hydraulic Ram will be pumping water. We have a small exhibition on the history of Burton Mill and the restoration of the milling machinery. Admission is free and all are welcome!
For opening times and more information on other local heritage sites see the Petworth Heritage website.
We are always pleased to welcome mill enthusiasts at other times of the year. Please use the form on the contact page to arrange a visit
The ‘Bald Explorer’ (Richard Vobes) visited Burton Mill and produced a short video of the mill in action.
Petworth Heritage Weekend, 16-17 September 2023
A record-breaking ~320 visitors came to the mill over the weekend, so even the vintage bus problems and the tremendous downpour on Sunday were no deterrent. As always there were so many interesting stories, especially one chap who worked in the mill in the mid 1960s when it was still a sawmill. With this new information the history pages have been amended!
Petworth Heritage Weekend, 10-11 September 2022
Over 280 visitors saw heritage milling in action – including quite a few who came last year and enjoyed it so much. Lots of nice feedback makes it so rewarding for the helpers. We were pleased to have a collection of working vintage engines once again at the mill.
National Mills Weekend, 8 May 2022
A warm and sunny day brought more than 130 visitors to Burton Mill – some for the second time! We were selling flour in support of the DEC Ukraine appeal which raised £160.
Petworth Heritage Weekend, 11-12 September 2021
This year’s theme of ‘Edible England’ was particular apt for Burton Mill as we mill only locally sourced wheat. A record number of visitors saw the mill working alongside other demonstrations. We heard so many interesting stories – one visitor remembered as a child helping his father catch eels just behind the mill; another couple brought along this delightful poster from the time Mrs Mills (pictured below) operated Burton Mill as a commercial flour mill.
Petworth Heritage Weekend, 19-20 September 2020
Our only public event of 2020 was a great success with over 200 visitors, despite the covid restrictions. As well as the milling demonstrations we had four stationary engines adding the the heritage atmosphere. A highlight was the arrival of the traction engine ‘Surprise’.
Petworth Heritage Weekend, 21-22 September 2019
The mill was open in partnership with other local heritage sites and welcomed a total of 315 visitors. We sold 90 bags of flour! As always it was interesting to hear more stories of the mill’s recent history. One visitor remembered the top floor of the mill being used as a garage where the chauffeur kept the owner’s Alvis.
Morgan 3-wheelers visit Burton Mill…
National Mills Weekend 12th May 2019
A record Mill’s Day with 114 visitors. One very special visitor was Mrs Mills (pictured), who in the late 1970s saved Burton Mill from dereliction and installed the millstones. Helped by her son William she operated the mill for about 10 years.
Heritage Open Days 16th September 2018
Our most successful open day yet with over 120 visitors. Recent dry weather prevented us running the turbine continuously but all our visitors saw some power generation and flour milling.
National Mills Weekend 13th May 2018
Over 70 visitors came to see the mill produce flour for the first time in many years. Over 30kg of flour was milled under the supervision of David Plunkett. Visitors were able to take away 500g bags of freshly ground flour. Plenty of recent rainfall allowed us to run the turbine all day – producing electricity when not grinding flour.
