Attention budding Picassos! Enhance your drawing technique or learn a skill from scratch with new art classes coming to Skipton.

High Corn Mill is launching a series of art classes in and around the grounds of the historic mill that dates back to 1310. With the help of local artist Nigel Overton, aspiring artists can learn key techniques in the stunning surroundings of the mill.

Says Nigel Overton: “You can’t help but be inspired at High Corn Mill with such scenic surroundings and interesting architecture. I welcome artists of all levels and ages to come along. The teaching will be informal and sympathetic to the needs of each individual and most importantly an enjoyable and relaxing day out for all!”

Nigel is a former head of art and design at a large comprehensive school in Leeds. He now paints professionally and has a studio based in Ilkley. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in the UK and Ireland. He believes anyone can learn to draw and paint given the proper tuition.

Full day courses cost £48 per person and include a morning coffee/tea, homemade lunch in The Rafters Tea Rooms and an afternoon refreshment and cake. The Rafters Tea Rooms is suited within the mill building and boasts a sun terrace with views overlooking Skipton Castle, Skipton Parish Church and the canal.

The day courses start on Thursday 27 May and will be run on Thursdays from 10am to 4pm, until the end of the year. Participants can book a single one off day or a series of classes.

A timetable of classes is available online at www.overtonfinearts.co.uk or pop into The Rafters Tea Rooms to pick up a leaflet. The classes will cover a range of mediums such as watercolour, acrylics, pen and ink and pastels. A range of subject groups will also be focused on such as architecture, painting flowers and landscape.

For further information or to book please contact Nigel Overton on 01943 608447 or nigel@overtonfinearts.co.uk.

High Corn Mill’s Historical Innovation Zone is proving an enormous success since it opened on August 19.

The Innovation Zone is Skipton’s latest visitor attraction and was officially opened by the Mayor of Skipton and actress Hannah Hobley, who plays Chantelle Garvey on ITV’s, hit TV sitcom Benidorm. 

Said Mill owner Andrew Mear: “There has been a non-stop stream of visitors coming to see the new viewing area and we were especially busy with people over the August Bank Holiday weekend.”

Located within the heart of the mill, visitors can see the specially commissioned water turbine, installed by letslivegreen,  and how it helps to generate part of the town’s electricity supply via the national grid - supplying enough power for up to 20 homes.

“The turbine was a culmination of a £200,000 environmental initiative to ensure the mill retained its medieval roots and extended the car park for visitors,” added Andrew

Specially created viewing areas enable visitors to see some of the original machinery used to process the corn, and a second waterwheel which visitors can turn by pulling a lever that releases water from the mill’s pond.

“The opening of the Historical Innovation Zone has helped Skipton celebrate another important date in the town’s history and I hope visitors to the mill will continue to enjoy what it has to offer,” said Andrew.

The mill, situated off of Skipton’s award winning high street and once part of the town’s Castle property, now houses a selection of retail, beauty, food and business tenants.

The Historical Innovation Zone is free to visit and open to everyone.

High Corn Mill - the medieval mill at the top of Skipton high street now home to a range of 21st century businesses and retail outlets - is asking for your 'Memories of the Mill'.

Current owner Andrew Mear would like to hear from people who grew up in and around Skipton about how they, or generations before them, remember the mill before its refurbishment. Did the mill play an important part in their life – and if so, how and why? Perhaps they once worked there or had a parent or grandparent that did? Or, as it’s such an ancient building, are there any ghost stories or folk tales associated with it?

 Any memories that people come forward with will be collated and used in a commemorative booklet to celebrate the mill’s history and mark the first birthday of High Corn Mill's 'Historical Innovation Zone'.

Says Andrew: "We actually know quite a bit more about High Corn Mill’s ancient past than we do its recent history.

"Its history after the 1950s is a little unclear, so we’d really like locals to help us fill in those gaps. With this being such a characterful property, we’re sure that people must have some colourful memories either of the building itself or of the people that worked here"

Combining ancient with modern, the mill retains its medieval roots while also providing delightful premises for a range of up-to-the-minute shops, businesses, a café-bistro and even a Church.

'Green Entrepreneur' Andrew Mear - who also runs Lets Live Green, the Skipton-based one-stop shop for green energy advice and installations - invested £35,000 in a specially commissioned 600kg water turbine that generates part of Skipton’s electricity supply via the national grid. The 15kw Crossflow turbine powers up to 20 local houses and forms the centrepiece of High Corn Mill’s ‘Historical Innovation Zone’ tourism attraction, which was officially opened by Benidorm actress Hannah Hobley and Mayor of Skipton, Coun Robert Heseltine in August 2010. The installation has since seen High Corn Mill shortlisted in the 2011 Yorkshire Post Environment Awards.

Nestling between The Home Company and Christ Harvest Church, the 'Historical Innovation Zone' allows visitors to see the inner workings of the water turbine and makes for a free, fun and educational trip for all the family. The turbine was specially built for the mill and represents the culmination of a £250,000 environmental initiative to restore the waterwheel and ensure High Corn Mill mill retains its medieval roots.
If you or anyone you know does have any 'Memories of the Mill' and are willing to come forward with them, please email Jan Turner at jan@akapr.co.uk or call her on 01756 795 374.

Skipton's High Corn Mill was recently shortlisted for a prestigious environmental award.

The Yorkshire Post Environment Awards 2011 recognise and celebrate the best of the important environmental work being undertaken across the region, and High Corn Mill was runner-up in the 'Project Under £1 Million' category.

The owner of medieval High Corn Mill, Andrew Mear - who also runs Lets Live Green, the Skipton-based one-stop shop for green energy advice and installations - invested £35,000 in a specially commissioned 600kg water turbine that generates part of Skipton’s electricity supply via the national grid. The 15kw Crossflow turbine powers up to 20 local houses and forms the centrepiece of the mill’s 'Historical Innovation Zone' tourism attraction, which was officially opened by Benidorm actress Hannah Hobley and Mayor of Skipton, Coun Robert Heseltine in August 2010.

Environmental enthusiast and 'Green Entrepreneur' Andrew says of the carbon neutral complex, which is home to a mix of local businesses and retail outlets: "The new turbine was specially built for us and represents the culmination of a £250,000 environmental initiative to restore our waterwheel and ensure the mill retains its medieval roots.

"The mill has been an important part of Skipton life for over 300-years and will continue to be so thanks to ongoing investment in the building.

"In this day and age, being environmentally friendly is no longer a luxury. Even though we’re only a small company, we are hoping to show that size doesn’t matter. Anyone can make a difference, if they’re determined enough".

Situated off Skipton high street, High Corn Mill once formed part of Skipton Castle’s property, but now houses a selection of retail, beauty and business tenants, as well as the popular Historical Innovation Zone - which is free to visit and open to everyone.