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| The Millers’ Mutual Collection is one of the most important additions to our archives in recent years. As a national repository dedicated to preserving the history of milling, our collections reflect the whole span of milling history in Great Britian and further afield, from ancient quern stones, through the story of wind and waterpower to the rise of the modern industry. In the latter part of that story, the Millers’ Mutual Association (MMA) along with the National Association of British and Irish Flour Mills (NABIM – now UK Flour Millers) played a crucial role. |
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| Millers’ convention, 1929 – MMAC-IMG-005 |
| As milling technology developed and mills grew larger and more efficient in the early part of the 20th century, milling businesses faced intense competition and the threat of bankruptcy. Government control of the industry during the First World War put a check on this for a time, but when the industry was deregularised after the war the problem reemerged. Eventually a solution was proposed – the establishment of an association to regulate milling throughout the country. On becoming members of the association, mills submitted details on their output over the last three years, and this became the basis of their assigned quota for the amount of flour they were expected to make in a year. Mills making more than their quota were fined; those making less could receive financial compensation. Mills could buy and sell quota from one another, and any mill business wishing to close would sell back its quota to the association. This way the overall flour production of the nation could be limited, preventing cut-throat competition, and firms which wanted out could receive some compensation for the closure of their business. |
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| Examing the collection at 21 Arlington Street, London. |
| The archive of the Association contains the records documenting the implementation of this scheme. Of great interest are the original forms submitted by all the milling firms joining the association at its foundation in 1929, with the details of their flour production over the last three years. Taken together these give a detailed snapshot of the state of the milling industry throughout the nation in the 1920s. Sadly, at some point the files were damaged by a fire and the paper is now extremely brittle and liable to crumble to pieces at the touch of a finger. For the moment, therefore, this information is not accessible, although with sufficient funds we may be able to have conservation work carried out to better preserve these important papers. |
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| In a much better condition are a long series of deeds and agreements running from 1929 to 1983. These exemplify the process outlined above in action, recording the various sales of mills, milling quota and the goodwill of milling businesses to other firms, or to the association. The earlier examples can be very attractive calligraphic vellum documents, often with hand-drawn maps. Many also contain detailed lists of the machinery and plant at the mills. The records paint a picture of the gradual closure of smaller firms as a small number of large milling businesses came to dominate the industry over the course of the 20th century. |
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| Caring out preservation work on some of the large ledgers in the collection. |
| Alongside these records the collection contains extensive minutes from the MMA, NABIM and other bodies, together with patents, photographs and artworks. A large donation of books has made a significant addition to our library, including rare items such as publicity materials and staff magazines from historic milling firms. We are very grateful to the Millers’ Mutual Association and UK Flour Millers for entrusting us with this collection, and for their ongoing support. |
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| Annual reports of the National Association of British and Irish Mills. |
| You can read more about our work on the collection in these newsletters: The frogs and the stork: Cartoons by John Doyle Priority collections ‘As you like it’ Milling through the Blitz The Flour Extraction Rates of WWII …and Bread Waste Today You can find out more about the history of the modern milling industry through our website. |
