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| Millwrighting drawings from the Rex Wailes Collection. |
| We are pleased to announce that the Mills Archive Trust has been successful in acquiring funding from the National Archives ‘Archives Revealed’ programme to help us catalogue and promote our millwrighting records. Caring for these collections is a core part of our efforts to help ensure the survival of the craft of millwrighting. A profession on the edge of extinction, millwrighting is tradition inherited from centuries past, a combination of carpentry and structural and mechanical expertise, which today must be combined with a sensitivity to historical accuracy. Each mill is a hybrid of building and machinery which cannot be considered separately, and each mill was different – regional characteristics varied depending on local expertise, materials and traditions, and every mill had its own unique arrangement of machinery developed to solve specific problems. For mills that have disappeared, the records we hold may now provide the only evidence of the intricate craftsmanship that went into their construction. But for those that remain, our records have a more direct practical value of ensuring authentic, historically accurate repairs. |
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| Rex Wailes with millwright Alfred James Thrower (1881-1962) at Herringfleet smock mill, Suffolk, September 1945 – ASHL-NEG-294 |
| This project, entitled ‘The Wright Records’, is part of our broader ‘Caring for an Icon’ programme, and will see work being carried out on four key millwrighting collections which still need significant work.The drawings shown in this newsletter are found in the Rex Wailes collection. This collection has already been the focus of detailed cataloguing, however around 1000 large millwrighting drawings still remain untouched. These were gathered by Rex during his extensive travels in the UK and overseas, and reflect a wide variety of ages and dates. Cataloguing these will fill an important gap in our knowledge of his collection. |
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| Alongside this collection, records from millwright Vincent Pargeter (1943-2015) will also be included, as well as two collections from important contemporary practitioners: Owlsworth IJP, building conservationists who continue to carry out millwrighting work today, as well as having inherited the records of earlier millwrighting firms, and Luke Bonwick, a respected contemporary millwrighting consultant whose work ensures that the craft continues into the present day. |
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| The collections we have prioritised are not only immediately useful for specific mills, but can also serve as a teaching resource, offering models of millwrighting solutions where no direct records exist. They can thus serve as a knowledge base for mill custodians and contractors when determining what needs to be done and how work should be carried out. We expect our sector-leading commitment to rescuing, preserving and making millwrighting records freely available to encourage a revival in this traditional skill. |
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| Our Director, Elizabeth Bartram, said: “Caring for windmills and watermills is a key theme within the collections and activities of the Trust. This funding will go a long way in helping us address the needs of a range of people, not least those involved in the care and repair of these iconic structures. We are grateful for this support and are excited to start work on this innovative project”. |
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