SECRETS of The Watermill at Bagnor are being revealed as work gets underway on a major project to provide the popular theatre, housed in an 18th century mill, with geo-thermal energy.

The work has involved the drilling of 11 separate 160 metre bore holes in the theatre’s car park, and has also required parts of the interior of the mill to be stripped out.

During this process, the contractors have revealed some of the old workings of the mill including the highest pulley block in the building. It is believed to have originally been used to take corn to the top of the building prior to the grain working down through the mill stones.

Production manager Lawrence Doyle says: “Having exposed the old pulley we hope to keep it on view. It sits above the dressing rooms at the top of the building. We have also temporarily taken away the triple-glazed window in front of the mill wheel, so that we can re-site the glass and improve the lighting, giving audience members going past the wheel and into the auditorium a really good view of it.

“The noise of the water rushing through the mill race without the glass in place is quite deafening.”

The environmental project to provide a heating and cooling system for the theatre and restaurant has been made possible by investment from Arts Council England and the theatre itself.

The work will take five weeks to complete.

The Watermill’s artistic and executive director, Hedda Beeby says: “This investment in our future from the Arts Council gives us an exciting opportunity to make the most of our natural surroundings to improve the experience of visiting the theatre for our audiences.

“It’s quite fascinating watching little bits of history unfold alongside state of the art engineering work.

"We hope that our experience of using this pioneering technology can be shared across the industry.”

In spite of the disruption, the show goes on as the cast for the next production, Agatha Christie’s The Secret Adversary, is in the theatre’s rehearsal room preparing to open on Thursday, February 12.

Find out more about the geo-thermal work online at watermill.org.uk.