 
HMG Activity - 1
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Hampshire Mills Group (HMG)
members devote considerable time and expertise to
the preservation and restoration of mills and
milling equipment. This ranges from giving
advice and searching historical records to hard
physical labour on site. We also venture far
and wide to enjoy viewing mills in other parts of
the UK and abroad. |
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Hampshire
Mills Group
visit to the mills archive
HMG
helped make a dream become a reality as the first
mills-associated organisation to support Ron and
Mildred Cookson, with a £200 cheque, to set up The
Mills Archive as a database to be freely accessed by
anyone, anywhere in the world.
Needing to find a larger storage area
for their huge collection of photographs and
documents, the Cooksons launched the idea of a
central database for research into all types of
mills throughout Britain in April 2002.
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A further 30 collections were donated
and the resulting 75 boxes were moved to a low
ceilinged attic room in Watlington House.
One of our members in particular,
Tony Yoward, supplied literature and pictures from
the group’s
own archives, much of which had been researched by
Tony and his late wife, Mary. The Internet
Catalogue was launched in October 2003 and to date
there are 18,000 catalogue entries and 14,000
scanned images. There are also 4,000 reference
items.
A large party of Hampshire Mills
Group members was recently treated to a tour of the
Archives and it’s
comprehensive library by Ron Cookson and two of his
volunteer team, Ken Kirsopp and Luke Bonwick. We
learned how vital correct storage and handling of
precious glass slides and delicate old documents is
necessary; Ken demonstrated how to access his
favourite and Luke talked us through the Archive
history and the way in which it works today.
Many
more volunteers are needed to cope with scanning the
huge volume of information into the website as well
as hosting visiting researchers to Watlington House
itself. To find out how to become a Friend of the
Mills Archive or to check out a mill go to
www.millsarchive.com.
Article by Sheila M Viner,
photo by Andy Fish
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THIRTY YEARS ON -A CHANGE AT T’
MILL
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“I’ll
do it for six months, just until you find someone
else.” Now, more than
thirty years later, John Silman has found a trusty
replacement Chairman for the Hampshire Mills Group.
His worthy successor is Vice-Chairman, Mick
Edgeworth, who took over his new role during the
December meeting of the mills group
at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.
A founder member of HMG, John
Silman has spearheaded a small band of
enthusiasts through more than three decades of
rescue and repair of many of Hampshire’s
wind and water mills. Mill owners and work parties
of other mills groups throughout the country have
sought his advice. He has also delivered
countless illuminating and highly informative talks
to an enormous cross section of groups and societies
across the south of England, and not just about
mills, but about old postcards too. These will be
continued as will labour with the “Heavy
Gang” team, working to
repair and restore Hampshire’s
industrial past. |
In
recognition of John’s
enormous contribution, the Mills Section of the
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB)
presented him with an illuminated citation in
November 2006. Justly proud of this rarely bestowed
honour, John is photographed with it at Longbridge
Mill.
Photo & article by Sheila M
Viner |
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Seminar
on Micro-Hydro at Crabble Corn Mill, Dover, Kent on
Jan 24th 2008 The British Hydropower
Association held a seminar to introduce the topic of
generating electricity from water power on a
small scale. Of interest to Mill owners and
local authorities the morning was devoted to short
presentations on the basics of power generation, the
ways to go about ascertaining if it is
feasible and possibly economic, the role of the
Environment Agency and the consents required and
case studies on two recent successful installations.
A tour of the new 3.6kW generating set at the
Crabble Corn Mill - Kent's only working watermill -
showed what micro-hydro involves in practice.
Two simple facts dominate - to generate power you
need a good head of water and a strong flow rate.
Then you need to consult early with the Environment
Agency to engage on the issues of licences, consents
and surveys - the impact on fish, water diversion or
extraction and potential flow reductions. An
engineering solution can then be designed and costed
and if you generate enough to sell surplus energy
the complex economics of electricity tariffs,
renewable energy certificates and the like worked
through. If all is positive then Local
Authority planning consents must be sought and
finally the installation can be started.
Somewhere a year to two years from the start you may
be able to switch on.
Given the imperative of increasing the capture of
renewable energy - and one estimate said that the
20,000 mill sites in England could generate 200MW if
all converted - it seems that currently the burden
on a mill owner is quite onerous from the regulatory
and official angle, and the economics not
compelling. However a long term view is
needed and at appropriate sites electricity
generation is feasible and economic with payback
over 10+ years.
Interestingly the seminar had an audience mainly
of professionals from the industry, local authority
staff learning about the subject and 4 or 5 owners
of mills or other potential sites.
The
British Hydropower Association - BHA has a
useful guide to Micro Hydro on its website, and is
an industry body promoting the use of hydropower.
A number of consultants and engineering firms can
offer advice and services to assist in or carry out
the process.
Report by Ashok Vaidya - the
article reflects his views and not necessarily those
of the Hampshire Mills Group.
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