Please support “Mills make the world go ‘round’”, a vital project that needs your help. The Foyle Foundation has pledged £15,000 if we can raise £8,645.
We need your help to raise the remaining funds needed to open up the Archive to wider interest groups through an important part of the nation’s heritage with far-reaching relevance: industrial history. Mills have powered more than 80 different industries during humankind’s history, from textiles and paper to, to gunpowder production and the iron industry.
Over time, inspired individuals have helped to solve problems or capitalised on an opportunity in the production of goods or related services and we hold many historical records of their achievements.
Since the 1700s the world has witnessed increased mechanisation and approaches to production for an expanding population clustered in towns and cities. Without these innovations, our society would not be what it is today, and without mills this transformation could not have taken place. Changes in technology and engineering during the Industrial Revolution and up to present day are just as visible in the ways that milling has been developed.
With your support, we will be able to catalogue and digitise the best examples of our archival material that cover industrial history. We will launch a new, improved online catalogue for our library of 4000 books and journals to open up our industrial holdings. We will create webpages that help people to access, learn and understand the different industries that milling has powered and some of the key people who have been responsible for driving these industries.
The project will also have long-lasting benefits, opening new areas of study and collaboration that in turn will help to make the Mills Archive sustainable so that we can continue to look after and make our holdings available for many years to come.
To find out more or to make a donation, please visit our appeal page here.
Thank you so much for your support; I’ll keep you all informed about the project as it progresses.
