“Le Moulin Vercruyce, Hondschoote, Nord”, 1986 – REXW-IMG-03-070 A quest to begin a new career as an Archivist led me to seek some hands-on experience at an accredited archive before embarking on the recommended qualifications; and who better to ask than the Mills Archive? Happily, running true to form as a recipient of the prestigious Queens…
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Mills Sections and Mills Archives
E. M. Gardner alongside millstones, Llecheiddior, Gwynedd in June 1951 – EMGC-04-25-28. How can one woman’s fight to preserve watermills in the 1940s define two different heritage institutions, multiple important archival collections and give young people essential work experience in the next century? This is the legacy of Emilie Montgomery Gardner. The Mills Archive received her…
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…
‘As you like it’ – Nathanael Hodge
The magazine ‘As you like it’ was created for the staff of Joseph Rank Ltd in the 1920s. They provide a fascinating glimpse of the lives and interests of the people who worked in flour mills a hundred years ago.Named after one of Rank’s flour brands, the first issue of ‘As you like it’ was…
Building a Mill: Workforce
Women in the Northwestern Miller magazine
Starlina Rose Parlac’s 1934 ad featuring a woman fending off her pursuing bakers titled ‘Stop! It’s my turn to speak!’. How women are discussed in the articles and advertisements in the Northwestern Miller throughout the 1930s is invariably situated within the male printing and advertising perspective. Even articles written by women primarily address the needs…
Word Jumble
Since November 2023, I have been working as the Renewable Energy Intern at the Mills Archive Trust. My main project has been to create a digital exhibition exploring the often overlooked connections between traditional milling and renewable wind and waterpower technologies. Amidst the twists and turns of my initial investigations, something vital caught my attention:…
Priority Collections
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…
Renewable Roots
This is the beginning of a new series that explores the link between milling, renewable energy and climate change.We can condense this idea into the following sentence:Understanding Our Milling Heritage Encourages Local Initiatives In modern Renewable Energy Which impact Global Climate ChangeThis ten part series, which kicks off our new monthly newsletter, Renewable Roots, is…
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…