User:Davethemiller

Dave lives at Roch Mill near Roch in Pembrokeshire and runs an adjacent holiday cottage called "The Granary at Roch Mill". Keenly involved in the local community Dave is a Director of PLANED, Chairman of the Victoria Hall Association and Vice Chair of Nolton and Roch Community Council. His hobby is restoring and maintaining the water mill and its extensive grounds. In all, the mill has six acres of land alongside the beautiful Brandybrook river. Interestingly, this gentle little brook has a significance far greater than its size would suggest. It forms the western end of the Landsker line, an unmarked boundary between the Englishry and Welshry that indicated the maximum extent of Norman occupancy (invasion) during the Middle Ages. Even today, names to the north of the line are usually Welsh while those to the south are almost invariably of English origin (little England beyond Wales).

There has been a water mill called Roch Mill associated with Roch Castle and listed in historical documents since the 14th century. Over the last 15 years Pat and Dave have devoted themselves to renovating the old, near derelict, water mill and this culminated in 2013 with the first operation of a brand new, reproduction water wheel. It is based on a pattern taken from the old wheel that was last used in the 1950's. Sadly, the hub was broken, the rim segments damaged and the bearing journals irreparably corroded. But it was great fun searching for someone who could make new components. We finally discovered a Foundry in Dudley that was able to recreate an authentic water wheel for us and after a huge amount of effort it now turns quietly round on the end of our cottage all day long, every day.