Cheshire's Historic Working Water Mill
Have you considered the Mill as a venue for a birthday, retirement or other celebration party?
Read our Hiring Information and Visitors' Risk Assessment
Contact us for more details at judy.gray@bunburymill.com
We also welcome the use of the mill by a wide variety of organisations - as a setting for dramatic events, a challenge for artists and photography groups and for social and fund-raising events.
Click on the links below for more information:
"Rain or Shine" Theatre Company Soul Caking Music Evening Vintage Car Clubs
The Rain or Shine Theatre Company
The Rain or Shine Theatre Company are regular visitors to Bunbury, performing their hilarious versions of well known dramas including:
The Hound of the Baskervilles (January 2017)
Dracula (December 2017) (subtitled 'A Pain in the Neck')
Dr Jekyll and Miss Hyde (December 2018) (yes, Miss Hyde)
As You Like It (June 2019)
The Wind in the Willows (December 2019)
She Stoops to Conquer (July 2021)
Around the World in 80 Days (December 2021)
Sherlock Holmes and the Music Hall Mystery (December 2022)
Not to be taken too seriously, these performances are delivered with amazing enthusiasm and audience rapport, and provide a highly enjoyable and memorable experience, as well as raising funds in support of the mill trust.
Keep an eye on the "Coming Up..." page for more information.
Soul Caking at the mill
In October 2017 the mill was privileged to host a historic re-creation by children from Bunbury Aldersey Primary School.
Souling plays were traditionally performed in communities across Cheshire between Halloween and Christmas and historically formed an important part of town and village life in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Many of the plays died out around the time of the First World War, although some are still performed to this day.
The Souling project was initiated by Minerva Arts in response to the archive of folk music historian Fred McCormick which contained information on this special Cheshire tradition. The project aimed to work in communities where the plays were no longer performed to revive interest and awareness of the plays and to enable children and young people to develop their own versions to perform.
The new Bunbury Soul Play was premiered to Bunbury Mill on the 28th October to an audience of 50
Minerva Arts would like to thank Bunbury Mill, Bunbury Aldersey School and the Heritage Lottery Fund for their support.
Musical Evening
A fine September evening at the mill provided a splendid setting for a musical evening in aid of mill funds. Virginia Kettle treated us to a series of evocative solo numbers, complemented by a 'what is it?' quiz on Roman objects from Chester museum. After the interval, Virginia was joined by members of her "Dreamkeepers" group for a second half of fun and rousing music.
A popular venue for vintage car club outings
During the visitor season, vintage car clubs often come to the mill, where they make a wonderful sight by the scenic mill pond and the old mill on a Sunday afternoon. How many of these can you identify?
BBC's Bargain Hunt at Bunbury Mill
Each episode of the popular BBC programme Bargain Hunt includes a visit by the presenter to a place of local interest. This summer the BBC team filmed some of their auction scenes at Peter Wilson Auctions in Nantwich, and we were delighted when they chose the historic Bunbury Mill as a feature for inclusion in the programme.
We spent a most enjoyable morning showing presenter Eric Knowles around the mill and discussing with him the history of our mill and milling in general. The resulting programme was shown on BBC1 on 20th November 2017.
Watch an excerpt from the show in the frame below.
BBC's "Bargain Hunt"
Oaty Porridge at Bunbury Mill
Bunbury Watermill hosted an Online Field Trip 'Oaty Porridge' as part of The Tesco Eat Happy Project, broadcast live from the mill on 1st October 2015, streaming into schools across the UK. The live lesson, all about Oaty Porridge, was presented by Sam Mann, and made in collaboration with oats producer Mornflake, and can be viewed at http://www.eathappyproject.com/online-field-trips/oaty-porridge.
As well as discussing the history of oats and oat milling, and the nutritional benefits (and pleasures) of eating oaty products, the 27 minute programme featured a detailed explanation of workings of the historic Victorian water mill - click the picture to watch the video on Youtube.
Merry Hell - March 2015
Merry Hell, the Wigan based folk band, came to the mill to film a track "The Baker’s Daughter" for their new album "The Ghost in Our House".
