R. Thompson & Son, Millwrights Of Alford, Lincolnshire; Preliminary report on the foundry patterns collection
Full details
| Authors & editors | |
| Publisher | BMHC |
| Year of publication | 2017 March |
| Languages | English (main text) |
| Medium | Digital |
| Edition | 2 |
| Topics | |
| Tags | |
| Scope & content | Preliminary report on the foundry patterns collection in the workshop at Parsons Lane, Alford 1. INTRODUCTION Thompsons were the last operational firm of the many hundreds of similar small businesses once to be found in Britain. Descended from a long line of ‘master millwrights’, the Davies family continued their work of repairing and restoring our traditional wind- and water-powered mills until Tom Davies’ retirement in late 2012. For more than 700 years, the millwright was a key member of the rural community, as depended upon as the local stonemason, carpenter, baker, wheelwright or blacksmith. In fact, the traditional millwright combined the skills of all these trades to maintain mills at a time when the power sources of wind and water were depended on by the community for its daily bread. In later years, as mills became recognised for their heritage value, Thompsons’ work took on an even greater significance. By the mid-20th century, Thompsons’ work was no longer confined to their local area, covering a wide swathe of the country. The firm was responsible for the restoration of mills in Anglesey, Kent, Lancashire, Tyne and Wear and most other counties in between. Important features of the Thompson workshop are its array of templates and hand tools as well as an unrivalled collection of wooden patterns for gear wheels, shafts and bearings – a collection now extremely rare in the UK. In view of its completeness and excellent level of preservation, Thompsons’ workshop is of regional significance as a representative example of a small-scale local business with 19th-century origins. However, in view of its contribution to the mill preservation movement in Britain throughout the 20th century, the firm’s collection is considered of exceptional significance nationally. The handwritten records of the firm’s work have also been preserved in their entirety, completing Thompsons’ unique UK millwrighting legacy. Further analysis of these will reveal more information about the patterns collection, the jobs undertaken by the firm and the people who worked there. |
Divisions within this publication
- 1: Introduction
- 2: Brief history of the firm
- 3: The yard and workshop at Parsons Lane
- 4: Operation of the firm and scope of work
- 5: The foundry patterns collection
- 6: The documentary collection - notes by Colin Moore
- 7: Bibliography
- 8: Photograph credits
