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Langford Road, BIGGLESWADE, SG18 9JX

Water turbine powered roller mill that is now a heritage attraction for Jordans the cereal manufacturers. It is powered by the River Ivel.

The watermill building dates from the mid 19th century. It was bought by William Jordan II in 1894. Following a fire it was converted from a millwheel to a turbine and from millstones to rollers for the production of white flour. It was at the cutting edge of technology at the time and with modernisation of equipment through to the 1920s retains the basic layout from that era. The left hand side of the building has recently been converted to provide access and excellent visual and multimedia displays of the processes. A full height window cuts a slice through the building allowing the equipment and layout to be seen. The tour also walks through the equipment floors.

On the third floor the flour from the break and reduction rollers passes through the plan sifters. Bran for animal feed is taken directly from the top sieve. Output from the other sieves may be returned to the finer rollers. Pairs of sifters are hung with flexible bamboo canes and powered by a vertical shaft with an eccentric weight.

Water turbine powered roller mills in the preserved mill owned by Jordans the cereal manufacturers. Unfortunately there was no guide available for the guided tours today and we had limited views through glass panels. Some reflections are visible but are not too obtrusive. This is a good excuse for a return visit. Roller mill plants that can be seen by the public are rare indeed and this was well worth the journey.

This is the top end of a water turbine with sluice controls and crown wheel that drove the roller mill plant of Jordans the cereal manufacturers. A veritable forest of belts and lineshafts drives the machinery on three floors above.

A bank of four rollers is used in sequence to break and reduce the grain initially to grist and then to finer grains. The husk, bran and wheatgerm is removed and the flour passes through sifters to achieve the desired consistency. The flour may pass several times through the rollers. The wooden vertical tubes contain elevators to lift the flour to the upper floors, diagonal tubes are used to move flour by gravity. The tollers date from the 1920s.

The purifier works by blown air to remove the lighter bran specks. These machines are by Henry Simon Ld of Cheadle Heath.

Now a heritage attraction for Jordans the cereal manufacturers. The visitor reception, shop and café are in the big modern building to the right.

This is a 111 horsepower three cylinder naturally aspirated diesel built by W H Allen Sons & Co Ltd of Bedford. It is on this preserved mill site but lacks any interpretation. Some of the party felt that it was in situ based on the mounting block for the pulleys looking older than the recent development of the site. It does look a little unloved.

Turning the blue wheel releases water to the turbine that is directly connected to the horizontal toothed wheel. This is turn drives the main shaft and through a series of leather belts all of the mill machinery. The turbine delivers up to 28bhp. In later days a turbine was connected to drive the main shaft.