Apsley Mill was a paper mill at Apsley, near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
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Early records
editThere was originally a corn-mill recorded in the Domesday Book.[1]
Paper mill
editThe mill was converted to papermaking by George Stafford in 1778, and was purchased by John Dickinson in 1809.[1] At Apsley Mill, Dickinson installed a new kind of paper machine, the Cylinder Mould Machine. Rather than pouring a dilute pulp suspension onto an endlessly revolving flat wire, this machine used a cylinder covered in wire as the mould. A cylindrical mould is partially submerged in the vat, containing a pulp suspension, and then, as the mould rotates, the water is sucked through the wire, leaving a thin layer of fibres deposited on the cylinder.[2] The mill supplied cartridge paper for the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars,[3] and produced envelopes, cards, ledgers and railway tickets, rather than paper, from 1888.[1] The stationery products were branded Basildon Bond, Three Candlesticks, Lion Brand and Challenge Notebooks.[4]
During the 1930s, the site became a vast industrial complex with the building now known as Apsley Mill Cottage, with its oak-panelled boardroom, at its centre.[5][6] Following a change in ownership, Apsley Mill ceased the manufacture of stationery in 1999.[7]
The war memorial, which is a grade II listed building,[8] and Apsley Mill Cottage, which is also grade II listed, are all that remains of Apsley Mill.[3] The remainder of the site is now occupied by Apsley Mills Retail Park (to the northwest),[9] by residential developments and the Paper Mill public house, operated by Fuller's, (behind)[10] and by the Holiday Inn Express Hemel Hempstead to the southeast.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Apsley Mill". Apsley Paper Trail. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020.
- ^ "History of Papermaking in the United Kingdom". www.baph.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ a b Historic England. "The Cottage Building at Dickinson's Mill (1067746)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Apsley's Mills". Rectory Lane Cemetery. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Stanyon, Michael (2022). Following the Paper Trail: In Hertfordshire's Gade Valley. England: Apsley Paper Trail. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-909851-06-1.
- ^ "Office space". Apsley Paper Trail. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Timeline". Apsley Paper Trail. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "John Dickinson & Company War Memorial (1454347)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Apsley Mills Retail Park". Completely Retail. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Paper Mill Apsley". Fuller's. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Holiday Inn Express Hemel Hempstead". IHG. Retrieved 2 March 2024.