Author: Pru Barrett In November 2017, Ron Cookson asked me if I would like to compile a database of millers, made up from the masses of emails and documents that the Archive had gathered in from numerous sources. As the daughter of a historian, and then a graduate historian, I’d been busy bringing up children…
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National Mills Weekend 2019 – report and pictures!
The sun was shining and the weather was warm last weekend: the perfect weather to celebrate National Mills Weekend! A festival of open-house mills that takes place across the UK every May, National Mills Weekend is run by the SPAB Mills Section, the UK’s national organisation devoted to protecting and promoting traditional windmills and watermills.…
Volunteer Spotlight: Tolkien’s Token Mill
In the wake of the recent premiere of the film ‘Tolkien’, about the life of the famous author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, our volunteer Susan has explored the mills in Tolkien’s work and how he uses them as an outlet to express his opinions on the way the world changed…
Gems of the Archive: Hand to Mouth
Although most of the records we hold at the Archive are in paper form, or similar – photos, drawings, documents, diaries and the like – we also have a small range of larger artefacts which pop up in our collections every now and then. Two such artefacts from our Gems collection are hand-powered milling devices:…
County Day Series: Huntingdonshire – the Paine’s mills of St Neots
Huntingdonshire was an historic county until it was merged with Cambridgeshire in 1974. However, in 1984, the district was reinstated as a non-metropolitan county. In 2002, Huntingdonshire Day was established on the former county’s most famous son Oliver Cromwell’s birthdate – 25 April. For me Huntingdonshire will always be. My family roots hail from Huntingdonshire…
Rudyard Kipling, Mill Enthusiast: World Poetry Day 2019
Today is World Poetry Day, an event to promote and to “give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements”. An ideal opportunity, therefore, to show you some of our favourite mill-themed poetry! Mills have long been the subject of romantic poems about England’s green and pleasant land. They represent a fondly-remembered…
Nomination of the Mills Archive for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
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…
Heritage Partner Spotlight: Eling Tide Mill Experience Celebrates One Year Anniversary!
Today the spotlight is on one of our Heritage Partners, Eling Tide Mill! On Tuesday 9th April, Eling Tide Mill celebrated the 1st anniversary of the Eling Tide Mill Experience with a day of fun activities including face painting, balloon-modelling, badge/keyring-making, story-telling, an Easter trail and guided tours of the mill. The Grade II* listed…
Gems of the Archive: Of War and Waterwheels
You may be familiar with the artist Sir Alfred Munnings, known for his impressive oil paintings of everything equine: from elegant race horses, to majestic hunting steeds, to quaint pastoral scenes featuring portly ponies blending into an idyllic, English landscape. But have you ever heard of John Munnings, lesser-known nephew of the great artist? John…
Volunteer Spotlight: Milling and Social Change from a Volunteer’s Perspective
Author: Nigel Birch I have been volunteering at The Mills Archive for 18 months or so, having previously known little about the milling industry, its historical and social influences, and variety of methods employed. I now know a little more than I did – but am far from being an expert! Volunteering at the Archive…