Topic: Aylesford Paper Mills – Early view of East Mill | UK Paper Mills On-line History Project

Tagged: Photo Of APM - 1 and 2 machine

This topic has 22 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 7 months ago by Michael Presneill.

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6th August 2018 at 13:40 #856
Kevin Harrild
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I worked at East Mill from 1988 to 2008 most of which in the engineering project role, and have some older photos of the site which I hope will be interesting to remember it now it has been mostly demolished.

I found this photo online just from a google image search of the newly built Paper Mill at Aylesford, which must have been circa 1922. The East Mill was built first, from 1920 when Albert E Reed Purchased the land next to the river, which had previously been a Great War Army camp. Interestingly the Huts from that camp as they were known lasted to the early 1990s when they were finally demolished.

The Photo Show No 1 & 2 Machine House, the long central building with No 2 drive Annexe facing the camera with the lower roof. Behind the Machine house you can see the brick Chimney of the original Boiler house, this had Lancashire shell boilers two of which survived as condensate tanks to the end of the mill circa 2010. At the Left of the Machine house is the original finishing department, the Salle. At the Right of the Machine house, is the original first 2 bays of the Beaters, the mill being a Kraft mill at the time.

No’s 3&4 Machine house was built in 1925, which was a similar length machine house but slightly wider in footprint, so this photo must predate that. It was built against Nos 1&2 Machine house. Nos 5 &6 Machine house went up in 1933-35, but the mill had expanded greatly by then.

The chimneys came down in the 1980s before I worked at the Mill, but when we were building the new Effulent Plant in 2003 on its previous site, we found the remains of the flues and brick based for both this and the Stirling Boilerhouse Chimneys. At 5 metres down digging foundations, we also found the remains of the Ash conveyors!

I’m not sure when the Maidstone branch railway line was put in, the but the fence might show its boundary. Our site ran close up against the platform of what would be New Hythe station.

If anyone knows the providence of this photo, please let us know, especially if there are any more.
- This topic was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by Chris Bennett.
25th September 2018 at 14:03 #860
Kevin Harrild
Participant
Photo added!
- This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Kevin Harrild.
- This reply was modified 6 years ago by terrywells.
- This reply was modified 6 years ago by terrywells.
- This reply was modified 6 years ago by terrywells.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by terrywells.
25th September 2018 at 19:18 #862

Kevin Harrild
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25th September 2018 at 19:19 #863

Kevin Harrild
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25th September 2018 at 19:21 #864

Kevin Harrild
Participant

25th September 2018 at 19:22 #865
Kevin Harrild
Participant
- This reply was modified 6 years ago by terrywells.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by Chris Bennett. Reason: Resized photo to check if text overlap could be removed
25th September 2018 at 19:23 #866

Kevin Harrild
Participant

25th September 2018 at 19:24 #867

Kevin Harrild
Participant

25th September 2018 at 19:31 #868

Kevin Harrild
Participant

I’ve now added some photos that I found on google maps, these had been added a few years ago with a tag of a mill employee – I take it there were found when the mill was closing down.

The photos fantastically show the build of Nos 1 & 2 Machines which were originally Walmsley Machines. No 1 was taken out in the mid 1970’s but No2 was making paper in its 1975 rebuild configuration with open gears and brass bearing on the 1-3 pre-dryers until the late 1990s when she was finally shut.

The Boiler house shows the Lancaster shell boilers, and their makers name from Dudley. They were twin fire tube and as I mentioned above 2 remained as condensate ‘Hot Wells’ for many years.

The Beaters were used in the original Kraft Mill, and you can see in that photo the parts of No 1 Gantry that carried a crane that lifted bales of pulp off barges direct into the beaters. There would be 4 gantries in total by the end of the kraft use.

18th March 2020 at 11:00 #979

Michael Presneill
Participant

Hi Kevin, have only just found the site and registered. I worked on 1&2 machine in about 1965-1971. I would like to imagine I can shed some light on both machines in time. I’am unable to open the photographs which you have uploaded. Can you help please.

Regards.

Mike Presneill.

Bredhurst.

ME9 7XA.

29th June 2020 at 16:58 #1002

Paul
Participant

Hi I’m new to the site and wondered if there were any archives, history or personnel records for pre 1955. My father worked there I think?

Thanks

Paul

29th June 2020 at 19:53 #1003

Michael Presneill
Participant

Hi Paul, I signed to this website March 2020. I worked at East Mill No 2 machine 1965-1971 and like you, am looking for information/photographs or contacts relating to this particular mill. You Imagine your father worked at the mill. Would you like to give me his name just in case it rings a bell somewhere. I had two uncles who also worked at the mill but I’m not sure of the time periods. My uncles were Frank Presneill (Overhead crane driver West Mill) and the other was Eric Presneill. He worked on the Island site so that must have come much later in time. My real Interest is in what happened to No 1 and No 2 machine following the redundancies in 1971 and what happened to both machines when the East mill was finally closed and demolished. Hope to hear from you in due course. Mike Presneill. Medway.

30th June 2020 at 22:22 #1004

Paul
Participant

Hi Michael. His name was John Cornish. He was quite a bit before your time and it was in the 1940s or 50s.

Paul

1st July 2020 at 16:15 #1005

Michael Presneill
Participant

Hi Paul,,

Thanks for getting back to me.

OK I now see what you are saying about the time scale. Yes, a bit before my time. Out of interest what did your dad do whilst he was at Aylesford and,, If you manage to find any info/leads regarding East Mill please let me know. Don’t ask me why but I’m desperately looking for photographs of the mill and especially No 1 and No 2 machines, that’s if any exist. 1965-1971 was a smashing time in my life and working at East Mill was a pleasure.

Thanks.

Mike P.

4th July 2020 at 22:09 #1011

Artless Bodger
Participant

Hello, I’ve just joined having seen this topic in a search for photos of rail traffic in and out of the mill.

Those photos above that I’m able to see are part of a set, my brother who was on the decommissioning team for Euroliner in East Mill was able to scan them and I have copies. They were used in a video called I think ‘Mill on the Medway’ which was shown on TVS about 20 years ago.

My interest, apart from having worked in the mill (East and West) in the late 70s and early 80s, lies in the depiction of the narrow gauge railways in this series of photos, used extensively by the contractors, to move spoil from excavations and to bring in concrete from the Winget mixing plant on site. The main reservoir in East mill, known as the ballast pit, was the source of the gravel used for the concrete.

Due to the railway content I have uploaded some of these photos to RMweb, with some commentary (some conjectural).

The second and third photos above show some of the narrow gauge track in place, and in the second you can see a standard gauge wagon (LNWR low sided open) on the temporary std gauge siding installed across the end of the machine house. Walmsley’s was at Bury, so the LNWR wagon presumably brought machine parts in.

The narrow gauge appears to be 2′ gauge, and given that the wooden hutted encampment was of WW1 military surplus origin, it’s most likely that the NG was also military surplus. There’s some insights given by other RMweb members on that website.

Seeing the machine basements in the photos above brings back memories of inspecting for starch leaks under 2 and 3 after the rebuilds – 2 was fairly clean and new, 3 had been converted 10 years or so earlier and was somewhat squalid, though you could walk up under the dryer felt runs from the size press tanks, 2’s ‘pit’ was rather full of ventilation ducting which made the crew’s job of removing oil soaked broke a nasty job during planned shuts.

One day I’ll get around to completing writing down some of my recollections, maybe they will be of interest?

I’ve also got some photos (poor quality) of the installation of WM no 8 boiler chimney, demolition of WM boiler house (1-5), and Hornblower shunting the last chlorine tanker off site.
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