The National Archives
will annually be provided with a list of material
which MAT has received. The latest list includes 23
collections of varying size and importance, three of
which are important millwrighting records. A few of
the collections may not yet be available to view as
they are largely unsorted and in a vulnerable
state. HMG’s David Plunkett has been working on one
of them which will be of interest to many of our
members:
Some 200
drawings from the Ringwood firm of Joseph J.
Armfield & Company Limited; who were not only
engineers but also
millwrights, turbine manufacturers, brass and iron
founders.
Other items are:
9 boxes of
material on the Holman Brothers, millwrights
- ledgers and commercial records of the firm as well
as research material on the firm and family gathered
by the late Geoff Holman;
1 box of Essex
windmill photographs (prints and some negatives)
from the 1930s to the 1950s by Rex Wailes
(1901-1986), consultant on mill repair and
industrial archaeology;
8 boxes of
architectural drawings, correspondence, documents
and photographs relating to the restoration and
conservation of windmills and watermills - the
collection of Christopher Louden Wallis
(1935-2006), civil engineer and expert in
restoration and conservation of vernacular
structures;
Approximately
1000 pen and ink sketches of windmills, two
watercolours and a handful of associated
documents by the
artist, Karl Salisbury Wood (1888-1958).
The
Mill Writing blogsite encourages us to
look at
this link where you will find a myriad of
mills (there are a few watermills amongst the
plethora of windmills) captured in lovely
paintings. Part
of the National
Collection of Paintings, they have been published on
the internet by "Your Paintings", which is a
joint initiative between the BBC, the Public
Catalogue Foundation (a registered charity) and
participating collections and museums from across
the UK. Register with the BBC and you can download
some, but, be aware that “each
image is also protected with a secure invisible
digital watermark that allows the Public Catalogue
Foundation and other copyright owners to identify
and track any unauthorised use of the image.
However, each one is clearly detailed with artist
and date (where known) plus the museum or gallery
owner. It’s a super site – thanks go to William
Hill for flagging it up.
Finally, Ron Cookson, M.B.E., was invested
with his “gong” at Buckingham Palace on 1st
February. Wear it with pride, Ron, on behalf of all
contributors to the Mills Archive, we’re very proud
of it too.
Sheila Miles Viner.
www.millsarchive.com
