MATLOCK TRAVEL SOCIETY

On Wednesday 19 August we boarded our coach at Slacks Travel for a lovely ride through the Peak District to Cheddleton Flint Mill in the Potteries in Staffordshire where we received a great welcome from the volunteers waiting to take us round the mill. Following refreshments, we set off in small groups on our guided tour of the mill, a water mill taking water from the River Churnet and sitting alongside the Caldon Canal. There have been water mills on this site from the Middle Ages, one originally for grinding corn and a second mill purpose built to grind flint which enabled the production of a new product in the Potteries, Creamware, a white-bodied earthenware popular among fashionable society of the early 18th century and later named by Josiah Wedgwood as Queensware after Her Majesty Queen Charlotte ordered a complete set of ‘tea things’. The demand for flint became so great that a second mill, the former corn mill, was moved over to flint production. As a result of this demand, the Caldon Canal alongside was built in 1778 to facilitate the transport of the flint along with other commodities including limestone and coal for other local industries.

We had a fascinating explanation of how the flint was heated in kilns to make it friable, stamped to crush it into finer pieces then ground for 24 hours in large circular pans lined with churt, a silica, sourced from near Bakewell. Water was used to make the process less dusty.

Two more treats were to follow – a fully furnished Miller’s Cottage to visit and tea and cake, before we moved on to the Churnet Valley railway nearby for a lovely train ride through the countryside up to Ipstones then back along the line to Froghall. The cream tea was very welcome and much enjoyed. The line was built from 1849 mainly to provide goods services and link towns in North Staffordshire.

Our next excursion on Thursday 25 September is to Boughton House in Northamptonshire, home to the Dukes of Buccleugh since 1683 and a treasure trove of fine art and furniture. Please call Marion on 01246 466925 if you would like to join us.