Frogmore Paper Mill
| Frogmore Paper Mill | |
|---|---|
| File:Frogmore Mill Apsley.jpg View from Durrants Hill Road Bridge | |
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| General information | |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Owner | The Apsley Paper Trail |
| Website | |
| www | |
Frogmore Paper Mill is a working paper mill situated in Apsley, Hertfordshire, near Hemel Hempstead. The mill is on an island in the River Gade,[1] which forms part of the Grand Union Canal.[2] It is the oldest mechanical paper mill in the world.[3][4]
History
[edit | edit source]There are no surviving records documenting when a mill was first built on the current site, but it is recorded as being a corn mill in 1086 in the Domesday Book.[5] In 1289, the mill was used for fulling; removing oil and other impurities from woolen cloth.[2] It returned to milling grain, then became a fulling mill once more, then finally it had become a paper mill by 1774.[5] The world's first mechanised paper machine was installed at Frogmore Mill in 1803 funded by Sealy and Henry Fourdrinier and engineered by Bryan Donkin, based upon a design by Nicolas-Louis Robert. This machine allowed continuous automated production of paper rolls. Unfortunately the £60,000 costs of developing the paper machines meant that the Fourdrinier brothers were bankrupted by 1810.[5][6][7]
For most of the 19th century, the mill was owned by the Grand Junction Canal, predecessor of the Grand Union Canal.[2] In 1851, the chemical production of paper from wood (now known as soda pulp), used in newspapers, began at the mill.[5] From 1853 to 1887 the mill was linked to Two Waters Mill, also near Hemel Hempstead.[5][8] In 1890, the British Paper Company was founded and took over operations at the mill; it fully purchased the premises in 1929.[2]
In 2000 the British Paper Company ceased operations and the Apsley Paper Trail was opened to the public.[9]
In 2008 a visitor centre was built with financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The visitor centre was badly damaged in a fire in January 2022.[10]
Operations
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The mill is run by The Apsley Paper Trail, a charitable organisation, and operated as a visitor, education and community use centre. Eleven full-time staff are employed at the mill.[11] It has been used for various theatrical productions, including the rock musical Rent.[3][12]
In popular culture
[edit | edit source]The mill has been used for multiple productions including Silent Witness, Whitechapel, Battle of Stalingrad, Carnage, Justice League, a Sky Mobile Commercial featuring Tom Hardy, and ManLab.[13]
It has also featured in multiple documentaries addressing its significance in the industrial revolution. Notable examples include Flog it! and More Industrial Revelations.[13]
References
[edit | edit source]Citations
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- ^ a b c d Cooper 2015, p. 46.
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- ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Hills 1988, pp. 96–97.
- ^ HALS 1998, pp. 2–3.
- ^ HALS 1998, pp. 5, 8.
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Sources
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