Have you ever wondered where flour comes from? Barney and Jane, both big fans of scones and cakes, decide to investigate. They’ve seen farmers harvesting wheat before but not the process of grains being ground into flour. Barney and Jane are very lucky - there’s a watermill nearby and they got a special invite!

The duo visits an old and once a very busy corn mill, Annalong Corn Mill, in operation from the early 1800’s and closing in the 1960’s and was one of the last working watermills. When a farmer brings his corn to be ground, the grains are usually quite wet so it needs to be dried out. The best way to do this is above a big fire. The mill has a grain drying kiln perfectly suited for this purpose. Barney and Jane join Fred the miller and learn about how flour is produced the old fashioned way. 

Other essential components of the mill include three pairs of millstones and of course a 15ft waterwheel powering the mill. The water is channelled from the nearby Annalong River.

Annalong Corn Mill was acquired by Newry and Mourne District Council in the early 1980s and was restored and reopened in 1983. Since then it has provided the basis for many a history lesson for visiting school children.

Presented by Jane Cassidy

Senior Education Officer: George Fleeton

Academic Adviser: Audrey MacManaway

Picture Editor: Joe Lyttle

Director: Catherine McFarlane 

Producer: John Scobbie  

With the assistance of St Patrick's Primary School Burrenreagh