by Mildred Cookson, The Mills Archive, UK
First published in Milling and Grain, April 2016
My last two articles in Milling and Grain featured material from the start of the 20th century on “British Empire Mills”, culled from one of the three major milling journals held at the Mills Archive. Another common theme followed visits to British and Irish mills, so I have chosen an account in that series from The Miller (1 May 1893), supplemented by a second, shorter article, published in Milling (Dec 24 1904).
In 1893, a visit by the milling trade celebrated the opening of Mr Skurray’s new roller mill in Swindon, west of London on the banks of the Berkshire and Wiltshire canal. The mill was built close to the Great Western Railway so, along with the canal, it had the advantage of using both railway and water carriage. Captain Marsh started up the engine of the mill on the visitors’ arrival, and the feed started by Mr F Skurray himself.
The mill was built in 1892 and fitted out by ER & F Turner. The site was chosen as Swindon was a large industrial centre with no mill nearer than Cirencester, and it was in the middle of probably the finest red wheat district in the south of England. The first plant was about 6 sacks and this with yearly improvements served until 1903, when a completely new Turner plant of 8 sacks capacity was installed. The buildings that were specially built for holding the six sack plant were enlarged to accommodate the larger plant.
First published in Milling and Grain, April 2016
My last two articles in Milling and Grain featured material from the start of the 20th century on “British Empire Mills”, culled from one of the three major milling journals held at the Mills Archive. Another common theme followed visits to British and Irish mills, so I have chosen an account in that series from The Miller (1 May 1893), supplemented by a second, shorter article, published in Milling (Dec 24 1904).
In 1893, a visit by the milling trade celebrated the opening of Mr Skurray’s new roller mill in Swindon, west of London on the banks of the Berkshire and Wiltshire canal. The mill was built close to the Great Western Railway so, along with the canal, it had the advantage of using both railway and water carriage. Captain Marsh started up the engine of the mill on the visitors’ arrival, and the feed started by Mr F Skurray himself.
The mill was built in 1892 and fitted out by ER & F Turner. The site was chosen as Swindon was a large industrial centre with no mill nearer than Cirencester, and it was in the middle of probably the finest red wheat district in the south of England. The first plant was about 6 sacks and this with yearly improvements served until 1903, when a completely new Turner plant of 8 sacks capacity was installed. The buildings that were specially built for holding the six sack plant were enlarged to accommodate the larger plant.
Read the full article in Milling and Grain HERE.
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