Featured project

Sacrewell Mill, an 18th-century watermill near Peterborough, was restored to full working order as a farm, mill and bakery, and made fully accessible to the public. The project created a new museum, bringing the site’s 300-year history to life.

The exhibition highlights the watermill’s role in agriculture, rural life and local industry, while providing interactive areas for families and school groups to explore and engage with the stories of the people, machinery and the building.

Sacrewell Mill

The exhibition explores the watermill’s 300-year history as well as the 2,000-year heritage of the whole site, exploring its role in agriculture, rural life and local industry. Central to the design are displays and interactive elements that encourage exploration and hands-on learning for visitors of all ages, particularly school groups.

Custom showcase solutions and carefully considered display areas present artefacts clearly and securely while reinforcing the overall narrative. The result is a vibrant museum that balances heritage, interpretation and accessibility. It has been recognised with several awards including:

The entrance combines a layered wall of images, a striking graphic, and three synchronized TVs that present different aspects of the site’s story while working together as a cohesive introduction. A transparent acrylic model of the watermill helps visitors understand the building’s layout and how it functions, setting the scene for the galleries ahead.

Sympathetic Interpretation

An example of interpretive design using materials and finishes that complement the historic watermill. This display explains the windmill’s gears with technical illustration.

Visitors can explore the watermill through a series of interactive experiences: counting timber rings in structural timber beams to date the building in history, feeling the differences in power generated by a man, a horse and water, to understand milling forces, and discovering how the gears and cogs work to drive the milling machinery.

Storytelling and visitor engagement shaped our approach. Working within the refurbished watermill’s historic spaces, our role was to transform the building into a coherent and welcoming museum space that showcases key artefacts while preserving the character and atmosphere of the site.

“Once we handed over to Vertigo, we were delighted with their robust project management skills and their communication. We knew we could pick the phone up at any time and they’d be there. Since we re-opened, we’ve exceeded our visitor numbers by 100,000. And we get such fabulous comments in our comment book from 4 year olds up to 84 year olds saying how interesting it is. We really enjoyed working with Rhod and John and would be happy to do so again”

- Jane Harrison, Project Officer at Sacrewell Mill

Sacrewell Mill, an 18th-century watermill near Peterborough, was restored to full working order as a farm, mill and bakery, and made fully accessible to the public. The project created a new museum, bringing the site’s 300-year history to life.

Sacrewell Mill

Awards

Sympathetic Interpretation