Beam DB had been severely damaged, Beam D had major damage and Beam B some damage. The major hole in the floor was located between Beams D and B. The joists are set into the beams with mortice and tenon joints and set into the wall in pockets. Outside of these beams there are joists and floorboards. The Beams A, B and C form a perimeter around the mill stone positions. Beams DA and DB lie between beams A and D and D and B respectively. Beam C runs the length of the room, while Beams A, D and B are supported by Beam C at one end and are set into the back wall of the mill at the other. The Stone Floor is supported off a grid of major beams. In April 2017 volunteers from the Beeleigh Mill Restoration Group started to strip back the timbers of the Stone Floor to expose the main beams for inspection and ultimate repair by specialists in the field. With his help we consulted Maldon District Council’s Heritage Planning officers and got agreement to repairing the floor subject to further consultation about the details. We made contact and Dr Bispham visited the mill and agreed to help us develop a plan. In late 2016 further searching of the internet identified Dr Joe Bispham as a Historic Buildings Consultant, and even better one of our volunteers, Richard Rowsell, knew him. However, those we approached firstly expressed interest, then eventually stopped returning our calls. At first we tried to get a heritage building contractor interested in working with us to repair the floor. Over 20 an extensive survey of the floor structure was undertaken and a series of scale drawings produced. This allowed us to go onto the floor with care. In the last quarter of 2014 two small areas of the floor were repaired by the volunteers with the support of ECC and a grant from Maldon District Council. As a result the floor had been designated off limits. At some time in the past the original roof failed, wet rot and wood worm took hold and eventually part of the floor collapsed, leaving a large hole. It is a complex structure with four layers of planks, some bolted together. The stone floor is the upper floor of the steam mill, where the millstones where located.
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