Flour bags
Frank was not just a talented and knowlegeable mill recorder and repairer, he was an inveterate collector of milling ephemera.
His collection of flour bags, now at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, is just one example of his passion. The collection includes examples dating from the days when the mills were still working commercially (such as Cross in Hand and Robertsbridge), as well as flour bags from mills which had been restored to working order by the 1980s (eg. Downfield Mill, Soham, Cambs and Bartley Mill at Bells Yew Green, Sussex).
To view all the catalogued flour bags, click here.
Paper flour bag printed with blue and red ink. James Hodson, the Flour Mills, Robertsbridge, East Sussex. Circa 1950.
Linen flour bag printed with blue ink. Prescott Farm, Rhode Island, USA. Circa 1985.
Paper flour bag printed with blue ink – J B Newnham and Son, New Mill, Cross in Hand, Heathfield, East Sussex. Circa 1950.
Linen flour bag printed with green and yellow ink. Bartley Mill, Bells Yew Green, East Sussex. Circa 1985.
Paper flour bag printed with coloured ink. Nigel Moon, Downfield Mill, Soham, Cambridgeshire. Circa 1985. (Front and reverse sides)