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…
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Work experience at the Mills Archive
I’m coming to the end of my two weeks of work experience at the Mill Archive Trust, having originally applied for the placement in order to gain a different perspective on the History A Level course which I will begin in September…
Breathing Fire
Chris Viney Sonning Mill – Steam Traction Engine, 1890 (Mills Archive Collection,EIGH-SON-02-007) This photograph shows a steam wagon outside Sonning watermill. The wagon is called Catherine Cooper; it was produced by Foden Trucks, a British truck and bus manufacturing company, and is an overtype steam wagon. The man on the right is the mill owner…
The Advent of Modern Milling
Find out more about the origins of roller mills in the articles below: History of Roller Milling: Farewell to the Millstone History of Roller Milling: The Origins
The frogs and the stork: Cartoons by John Doyle
Phoebe Goldsmith One of the most recent additions to our collections is the archive of UK Flour Millers (previously NABIM) and the Millers’ Mutual Association. Volunteer Phoebe Goldsmith has been doing some research into the significance of the three large engravings shown below: This collection of three satirical cartoons relates to the repeal of the…
Spanish Windmills
Rex Wailes Some time in the 1950s or 60s, Rex Wailes visited Spain and toured the mills of La Mancha, famous for their appearance in Don Quixote. He wrote this account of his findings. Mills of La Mancha Don Quixote, from the cover of the Northwestern Miller, Janyary 7, 1925 At the same time the…
Paine’s mills of St Neots
My family roots hail from Huntingdonshire and in particular St Neots which sits right on the boundary of old Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire along the Great Ouse. I descend from the families Paine and McNish. The Paines had long been established in the area as farmers at Toseland Hall and were well known in the small…
Funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has made our project, Reading emPOWERed, a reality
The Mills Archive Trust has been awarded a grant of £198,751, made possible by the money raised by National Lottery Players. Wind and water power have the potential to address present and future climate needs. Over the next two years, The Mills Archive Trust will expand learning opportunities in our local area, Reading, Berkshire about the history of…
The Twilight of the Mills
This article first appeared on our blog in August 2018.The sketch below was drawn by the eccentric and enigmatic Karl Wood, only two years before he was sent to prison: South Havra tower mill, 6 July 1949, Karl Wood (Mills Archive Collection, WOOD-M1307). This sketch is from the Karl Wood Collection: it forms part of a project…
Unusual places to find a mill
This article first appeared on our blog in January 2018. Boat Mill, 19th century (Mills Archive Collection, MCFC-ENG-064) If asked to name traditional mills, most people would probably name windmills, watermills, possibly tide mills, but less would name ‘floating mills’, also known as ‘boat mills’ or ‘ship mills’. These were structures that had the outside appearance…