Citizen March 8th 1985: Set For A Facelift – Historic Egypt Mills at Nailsworth is all set for a facelift thanks to licensees Phillipa and Steve Webb. The 300 years old mill, which still has its water wheel and stone corn milling wheels, is to be transformed into a pub and restaurant. Mrs Webb whose family have owned the mill for generations said today building work to tum the old grain mill into a 20th century inn should start in the summer. “We expect the whole project to take probably 15 months,” she said. Stroud District Council planners have already given the scheme consent. At present Mrs Webb and her husband run an inn near Devizes.
Egypt Mill is a restored 16th century corn mill located on the banks of the River Frome. It was converted to a hotel in 1986. The pub/restaurant is accessed over a bridge above the tumbling weir. There is a giant waterwheel in the bar. Egypt Mill has a good reputation for its food, especially fish dishes. In August 1997 an eight feet long halibut weighing 270 lbs was cut up into 400 portions.
Members of the Stroud Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale made a visit to the Egypt Mill in October 2020 to assess the pub. They discovered that the Egypt Mill had been recently acquired by the Brakspear Pub Company. On their Facebook page they wrote: ‘From the car park the dramatic entrance may be found across a bridge, where one can view the mill-pond to the left with a spillway for overflow and the continuation of the Nailsworth stream to the right. The building ls large, imposing, built of the landscape – Cotswold stone and firmly planted in its environment having roots back to the 14th century. Inside the premises, steps take you down to the bar/restaurant and up to the large function room. Close to the building may be found a gravelled area with plenty of table/bench combos, then covered areas on the left with further seating and very large grassed area with a shelter halfway down, again on the left. An interesting wooden harp sculpture sits betwixt the two shelters.
On the cask ale front, ordinarily there is a choice of Brakspear Oxford Gold or Gravity, however on this occasion the Gravity was exhausted, so Oxford Gold it was. This was served at cellar temperature and was in very good condition.
Visit the Egypt Mill website https://www.egyptmill.com
Map Reference: ST 850998
