Author: Michael Harverson and Alan Stoyel
The first winners of the Mills Archive Research Prize Competition were Anna Cook, who wins The Mills Archive Research Prize of £500 for her paper “The Millers of Holgate : a social history of milling at Holgate Windmill”, and Dave King, who wins The Mills Archive Research Award of £50 for his paper “A History and guide to Eskdale Watermill”.
Anna Cook’s entry will be presented as an individual edition, published by the Mills Archive. The sustained nature of the research, not least of the milling scene in York over 200 years, impressed the judges, and Anna’s enthusiasm for the subject made for an attractive text, notable for its many fresh insights into aspects of the milling scene. The main prize work was published in January 2013Anna Cook’s entry will be presented as an individual edition, published by the Mills Archive; Dave King’s entry wiil be published in a special edition of Mill Memories.
Dave King’s entry wiil be published in a special edition of Mill Memories. The paper gives a good feel of a working mill and demonstrates useful research, showing how this interesting old miill fits into the wider context.
The judges were impressed by the quality and relevant quantity of individual research shown by every competitor. All enlivened their entries with fresh insights into their chosen subjects, rather than merely repeating material from the general run of mill books. Millers and millwrights were quoted in their own words and local colour was added in most cases by using anecdotes relating to their particular mills and factual details of their milling practices.
The competition attracted enough interest and entries for us to arrange a new competition for next year.