We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded £40,000 by the Garfield Weston Foundation, which has its own origins in the mill world. This grant will be used to create the world’s first roller flour mill archive and library here at the Mills Archive in Reading. Our holdings date back 2000 years to…
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New arrival at the Archive
Last Friday the Mills Archive received the Michael Dufau collection. This important and valuable collection of over 50 boxes comprising mill books and records was left to the Archive in Michael Dufau’s will. The job of sorting through and processing his collection has only just begun, but a initial scan reveals a particular interest in…
Rotten Heritage!
Cliff Featherston of Upminster Windmill has sent us this striking photograph. It shows the cap frame during dismantling prior to renovation. Cliff says that the cleverly-coloured image “shows well the degree of decay over 213 years due to wet rot, dry rot and death-watch beetle. On the left guiding the craning is Willem Dijkstra, Dutch…
Mills in the Snow
For a bit of festive fun, this month we’re sharing images of mills in the snow with you on social media. Since the start of December we’ve been sharing a few festive images of snow scenes from our archives with you. A gallery of the images can be seen in the ‘Mills in the Snow’…
From Quern to Computer: a History of Flour Milling
Use our new interactive resources to discover the history of flour milling, from quern to computer. Do you want to explore the story of our flour milling history?Explore our new interactive resources below. Timelines From grain, to flour to our daily bread, access our From Quern to Computer timelines which demonstrate how the stories of technological changes…
Local archive detectives join the ranks!
The Archive recently enjoyed a visit from Wokingham U3A as part of a collaborative effort between our two organisations. The U3A runs a Shared Learning Project programme and the local group chose to partner with the Archive. These volunteers will delve into a new and significant local collection, exposing the information it contains and helping…
Effortless ways to join the Great British Mill Race this winter
The nights may be drawing in but you can still take part in the Great British Mill Race. Send us your mill interior pictures or review our Mills Database from your computer, table or smartphone to see what you can help us update. Read on to see the latest prize winning entries. The Great British…
The Mills Archive becomes a nationally accredited archive!
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded archive accreditation by the National Archives. The badge of accreditation is national recognition for the quality of our work caring for the vulnerable records of milling history. Accreditation is the UK standard which recognises good performance in all areas of caring for historic records and…
Milling mystery solved
Thanks to everyone who got in touch about the mystery image we posted last week. It turns out to be an ‘old women mill’ or ‘old wives mill’ – an old joke about a place old women could go. When they passed between the mill stones they would come out looking young and attractive again!…
A milling mystery
We have several copies of this image in the Archive, which appears to show someone being crushed between millstones. Does anyone know what it is? Can anyone offer a translation of the text? Contact us if you can help! Details of the text: