Local Food Heroes - Stephen Wheeler speaks to Tom Russell of Shipton Mill

Shipton Mill near Tetbury has been milling flour for a thousand years and is recorded in the Domesday Book. In the 1300’s the mill-owner refused to pay the local priory for the fishing rights in the millstream, so the monks sent over their heavy mob and carted away the millstones. They were smashed to pieces in Tetbury high street, and the legend goes that the fragments lie under the road to this day.

The present owners bought the mill in 1981 – it had lain derelict since 1954. Hundreds of local flour mills closed after the war, when factory-made bread replaced local artisan baked loaves. I visited Tom Russell, marketing manager, at Shipton Mill, where they now mill 126 different types of flour, many of them organic, for resurgent craft bakeries, chefs and amateur home-bakers. “We are passionate about the quality of the flour we produce,” Tom told me. “Whether the grain comes from a local Gloucestershire farm or the Canadian prairies, we test mill and bake bread from samples of every batch before delivery.” They use some ancient varieties of wheat such as Emmer, which has been cultivated since 7500BC and now only grows in mountainous areas of Europe and Asia, and Spelt, which was an important staple from the Bronze Age through to the Middle Ages. “Apart from making great tasting bread, keeping these ancient wheats alive is an important part of the stewardship of genetic diversity,” said Tom.

Shipton Mill use French burr-stone mills, a marble-like stone, for milling their speciality flours. The burr-stone takes heat away from the grain or ‘berry’ as it breaks down, otherwise the flour would be left with toasted overtones. This year they plan to use the mill-stream and refurbished mill-wheel to generate electricity for the lighting in the mill and offices. “Nowadays we need a stronger and more constant source of power to turn the mills,” said Tom, “but this way we harness the renewable energy”.

Shipton Mill holds the royal warrant from their close neighbour HRH The Prince of Wales. “We’re sure Prince Charles shares our values of nurturing bio-diversity, sustainable farming and keeping tradition alive,” said Tom.

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16th January 2010

Tom Russell

Tom Russell