MUCH water has flowed under the bridge since a 19th century waterwheel, once associated with a world-famous Hereford cattle herd, turned for the last time.

Thanks to the vision of Edward and Emma Bulmer of Court of Noke, Staunton-on-Arrow, and the skill and determination of mills’ expert Alan Stoyel, the old wheel is back in action after a 60-year break and will be on show during this spring’s National Mills Weekend.

Restoring the wheel is a first major step in the Bulmers’ plan, said Mrs Bulmer. “We hope to develop this whole lovely courtyard and it would be good to restore the workings of the mill.”

Developed in 1856, the waterwheel was part of a system capable of producing water for the De Quincey’s noted herd, as well as driving mechanisms used to process fodder. Unusually, there are two weirs on the River Arrow at Court of Noke, one for the farm’s mill, the second to drive a mill wheel at The Leen farm, home of the oldest recorded Hereford herd, a mile away.

Edward Bulmer contacted Mr Stoyel, one of the country’s leading authorities on watermills, when he was living in Oxford.

“I told him how important it was, so when I came to Kington, I could hardly get out of restoring it!” said Mr Stoyel, author of a series of books on watermills.

The task has proved a “hell of a job”, he explained. “Even the ironwork was broken.” Mr Stoyel believed the waterwheel had suffered “traumatic” damage in the 1950s. “Even the ironwork was broken.” Bronllys blacksmith engineer, Dave Perks helped with repairs. “Even the bearings were in a shocking state,” said Mr Stoyel.

Timber from the Court of Noke estate was sourced to rebuild the wheel: oak for the arms and Douglas fir for new sole-boards. No stranger to waterwheel renovations, Mr Stoyel claimed the Court of Noke job was the “most dramatic and most challenging” he had undertaken. He continued: “Court of Noke is a splendid place and I feel privileged to be working there.”

The wheel was designed with Hereford cattle in mind. “It was a fascinating system,” he said. “The weir fed the water gardens at Court of Noke, fed the ponds and the water meadows.” The wheel drove a chaff cutter and a roots’ pulper, the fodder destined for the herd. The De Quincey family was famed for its Herefords at The Vern, at Bodenham, and at Court of Noke.

Mr Stoyel believed an early 16th century mill had once worked here, the present one built around 1850. “It worked for about 100 years,” he said. The ironwork was produced by a Leominster wheelwright.

Said Mrs Bulmer: “When we first came to see Court of Noke we flew over in a friend’s light plane and we could see all the leets around the edge of the fields.” She said their fields had never been ploughed but were permanent pasture.

*Court of Noke’s waterwheel can be seen during National Mills Weekend 12 – 13 May.