The mills of Shushtar built below the dam on the river Karun. In 1992 Michael Harverson visited Iran to look for watermills. One of the most memorable sites he visited was Shushtar in the Khuzestan province. In this region are to be found the largest rivers in Iran, flowing from the Zagros mountains to the…
Author: Nathanael Hodge
Workshop – Caring for your collection
At the Mills Archive we recently made our first foray into delivery online webinars, on the topic of caring for archival collections.Two webinars held over two weeks looked at all aspects of archival care, including archival cataloguing, preservation of the physical items and the world of digital collections.The webinars were a repackaged version of courses…
Windmills of Nantucket – Rex Wailes
In 1929 Rex Wailes visited the island of Nantucket during his trip to the USA and Canada. This is his write-up of the history of windmills on the island: Smock mill, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, USA – REXW-GPN-C-080 Although at present there is but one windmill on Nantucket, there have been a number of others, and records…
Priority Collections
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Getting our priorities in order With 286 collections in our archive, ranging from 1 to over 200 boxes in size, it is important for us at the Mills Archive to determine which collections are the most significant. This helps us to know what material to focus on when applying for funding and working with our…
Sketches by Thomas Hennell
This sketch, showing the machinery in an unnamed mill, is one of a number drawn by artist Thomas Hennell and rescued as part of the Rex Wailes collection, now preserved by the Mills Archive. The life of Thomas Hennell Portrait of Thomas Hennell, by friend and fellow artist Vincent Lines. Thomas Hennell was born in…
Work experience at the Mills Archive
Form of an Appointment of an Agent of Millers
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This week’s gem from the Owen Ward Collection gives a glimpse of the role mills would have played in an invasion of Britain by Napoleon. The French Revolution of 1789 plunged Europe into lengthy wars. The Treaty of Amiens of 1802 between Britain and the new French leader Napoleon Bonaparte led to a brief respite…
Toy Theatre
1552 Indenture
Mills on the Chelmer
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This week’s newsletter is another extract from the writings and sketchbooks of John Munnings (1916-1987), this time on the mills on the river Chelmer, Essex.Many of the mills around Chelmsford were run by members of the Marriage family. Much of my knowledge about this family derives from Llewellen and Samson Marriage, who I used to…