Popular Isle of Wight attraction The Water Mill at Calbourne will close its doors for the final time this month.

The watermill attraction reopened after the winter season on March 29 but has sadly confirmed on their website that it will close as a tourist site on Sunday, April 14.

Flour has been milling at Calbourne for over 1,000 years, but, in recent years, the owners have been struck with site damage and high repair costs.

The mill was ‘fixed’ in time for its appearance in the second series of Channel 5’s Jewel of the South, with showrunners wanting it to ‘look pleasing’, according to the attraction’s owners, but further repairs are needed to ensure it is in working order.

Isle of Wight County Press: Calbourne Water MillCalbourne Water Mill (Image: IWCP)

In December, the pit wheel broke, which requires £70,000 to fix – and a fallen tree crashed onto a historic barn over winter.

Calbourne Water Mill confirmed the pit wheel “is too much money to fix, we managed to fix the teeth on the wheel, but a lot needs to be done. Channel 5 wanted it to look pleasing.”

The mill, which was sold to the Chaucer family in 2000, boasts a rich history and was first mentioned in the Domesday Book AD1086.

The County Press reported in September 2023 that Calbourne Water Mill was listed through Rightmove, with offers of £1.75 million and upwards being invited ahead of a public auction in October, after previously being put up for sale in August 2018 for £2.3 million.

Isle of Wight County Press: Entrance of Calbourne Water MillEntrance of Calbourne Water Mill (Image: IWCP)

The water mill’s owners insist the mill must be repaired, but the rest of the site, including the rural museum, vehicles and artefacts will be auctioned off in May.

The contents of the rural museum will go under the hammer through HRD Auction Rooms at an event hosted at the Water Mill on Saturday, May 4, at 9am.

Over 300 lots will be on offer, with presale viewings on Friday, May 3, between 10am and 5pm.

In 1954 the County Press reported that an Island industry had come to an end when Calbourne Mill stopped grinding flour.

The mill continued to make cattle food but after four centuries of flour grinding it was decided by owners that the economy was not good enough to continue.