1968 saw the retirement of the miller and the Mill ceased operation. Today, the three grinding stones remain, along with the sack hoist, milling machinery and crown wheel assembly, which have been incorporated into the living space of the ‘Mill House’. The water wheel also remains, but is in need of repair and the wooden paddles have rotted. It is planned for restoration and to reinstate the wheel as a source of power supply.

Before the property operated as a mill, evidence indicates that the barn-house and barns date back to 1705 and were used for living, keeping livestock and storing hay and grains.

In May 2015 we packed up everything we owned in Australia, including Otis our pet miniature Schnauzer, and left our jobs to travel around France in a campervan. We were in search of an idyllic French rural property and a new lifestyle.

After travelling through differing regions, we were drawn to the Charente-Maritime and it was love at first sight when we were shown le Moulin de la Fosse by a local Agent Immobilier. As cliché as it may sound, it was like walking into a Claude Monet painting, far removed from the sunburnt landscape of Perth, where Kathryn was born and bred, and Mark had lived for the past 27 years after immigrating from Dorset, England. By August 2015 we had bought ourselves a Mill in France.