Millers in medieval times were often stereotyped as rogues and thieves. Two vivid descriptions of contemporary medieval millers appear in The Canterbury Tales[1] by Geoffrey Chaucer[2], which captures the essence of medieval society in an Easter pilgrimage procession to Canterbury Cathedral. To entertain themselves, as they walked, the pilgrims played music and recounted stories and…
Thomas Cogan (Coghan) observed in his book The Haven of Health (published in 1584) that: Browne bread made of the coarsest of wheat having in it moch branne, fylleth the belly with excrements, and shortly descendeth from the stomacke. And beside, that it is good for labourers, I have knowne this experience of it, that…
or Mr Hovis and the triumph of advertising brown bread Hovis is a distinctive brand of brown bread. However, it was the advertising flair of John Figgis Morton who pioneered the advertising campaigns that made Hovis a household name. J F Morton was born in Macclesfield in 1872 and educated at the grammar school. His…
Diaries of a Country Miller at Pangbourne, Berkshire Robert Stone was baptised on 28 February 1852 in High Wycombe, the son of Alfred Stone, Master Chairmaker and his wife Ann nee Atkins. Robert went to the National School in High Wycombe, gained eight prizes and left in August 1863 to go to the Royal Grammar…
To celebrate International Women’s Day, today the 8th March, our Information Manager, Elizabeth, has been looking at the role of women in milling – who are not as few and far between as one might think! M. I. Batten[1] is the author of English Windmills Volume 1 which was published by the Architectural Press in 1930. We have…
Last week, Tom, one of our dedicated volunteers, found amongst the press cuttings, a piece of card upon which were written a few scrappy handwritten notes. He saw the word ‘mill’ and a date of 1549. Knowing that I like a mystery, he gave it to me to decipher. The note says: Finsbury Field 2…
On the hottest day of the year ever recorded in the UK, we are doing our best to keep cool at the Mills Archive. Working in a 17th-century building with no air conditioning is a challenge. The library is currently 26.8C at 10.30am. Our solution is to open the window in the library and put…
The Mills Archive are thrilled to announce that we have been nominated for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. To be nominated for this award is a tremendous honour and testament to the essential and valuable contributions of all our volunteers that make the Mills Archive a success. The winning organisations will be announced in…
“Dear Auntie, I escaped from Germany a few days ago and on crossing the frontier was told the very welcome news that an armistice was in force”. So begins the message on the back of this postcard of the smock windmill at Groenlo, in the province of Gelderland, eastern Netherlands on the German border. The…
I well remember World Book Day from when my children were at primary school. Choosing a book to read and the character to dress up, was serious business. Finding items to make the costume was my responsibility (and headache). If you are still seeking inspiration, here are a few children’s stories about mills and millers,…
