The Yorkshire Post
·Aug 2026
‘We want to see it working again’: Historic Leeds watermill begins major restoration
Thwaite Mills in Stourton, Leeds, has new owners who are beginning a roughly 12-month restoration of the Grade II listed watermill, which closed to the public in April 2024. The plans aim to reopen it as a working museum, with the mill owner’s cottage becoming a canal-side pub and the former ticket office a café, while also opening its island site for walking, community events, weddings and small music events. The owners are seeking former staff, volunteers, millwrights, engineers, joiners, stonemasons and archivists to help restore the machinery and buildings, with the relaunched Friends of Thwaite Mills group invited to shape the site’s future. No reopening date has yet been set.