According to reports, the watermill was placed in front of the family home to replicate the red brickwork, with every brick hand-made individually, and was intended to be a working watermill. However, years of being outside on the ground caused deterioration. Dawn's father passed away in 2014, and her mother downsized to a bungalow, leaving nothing to remind her of her late husband.
Steve Fletcher, a stalwart of The Repair Shop since its inception in 2017, restored the model, including making replacement bricks and adding water to make the wheel turn. Dawn brought her mother Pam to see the finished model, and both were moved to tears. According to Daily Express - Showbiz, Dawn described the restoration as 'amazing' and Pam expressed gratitude.
I'm no builder, but needless to say, this looks like it's seen much better days.
The exact date of the father's passing and the duration of the restoration remain unknown.
Yeah, I've done up old buildings, and I don't think any of them were as bad as this.
He put it all together to go in front of our family home to replicate the red brickwork of the house. Every little brick he made by hand, individually, he wanted it to be a working watermill. Obviously, the years of it sitting on the ground, outside, the weather had gotten to it.
He's touched, every single piece of this. He's crafted this, and she looks out her front window and sees this deteriorating; it's just so sad to see. So to have it brought back to life for the family, for mum, would just be amazing. Just to see it put back together and whole again, I think, is almost- we can't even think of that.
Look at that! Isn't that lovely?