TRIP 2 - (UPDATED JULY 2007)

Our return to Thamesford Mill was a result of the new owner contacting us and inviting us on a very detailed tour of the building, apparently our site provided him with the most detailed information on the condition of the building prior to purchasing the building for back taxes. We of course jumped at the opportunity to revisit this place as, although we had no immediate plans to return to this building, it was a very interesting structure, and the fact we were returning 5 years later we could see how the building had changed. I apologize for some of the the descriptions, we climbed through such a maze that it is difficult to describe a lot of it.

We arrived a bit early so as to be sure not the be late and walked around the building a bit while waiting for the owner. When he arrived he led us inside, first into the old farm store area which had been mostly gutted from when we had been there before, but he also showed us a large open room hidden behind a wall in the farm store.

We were soon led into the main structure where we discovered just how thoroughly the new owner had explored the building, and he was very knowledgeable about almost everything in the mill so much so that I doubt I can remember most of it. First stop was the basement where things had changed little in 5 years, however we were shown a well which we had missed our first time there. We then climbed the three stories to the top of the mill where we were shown a door which we had overlooked last time despite a small staircase and landing leading to it. The door lead to the centre bridge section of the structure - I had been certain we could reach the first time we had visited the place because I could see open areas through some gaps in the boards, but we did not find the door.

Through the door was a small passageway and some stairs which led to a grain sorter(I think that's what it is) with a tube and about a dozen receptacles. Climbing down from there we went further into a section where we climbed precariously on top of a crossing over large and very deep grain storage bins. Past the bins we entered the silo area we had climbed the last time we had been there, however I did not recognize it at first as it seemed very similar to the storage bins. Our guide led us down onto a little roof in the area and across the section to a ladder that led up a ledge, following him over a pipe and through a door we were then in a little hallway along the top of the silos and out onto the roof. We then climbed back down into the main silo area and out through the large doors.

After the building the owner took us around the building, showing us the dam and the other building explaining a lot of the job he has ahead of himself.

From what we can tell the new owner seems like a good guy with a genuine interest in maintaining the structure while at the same time revitalizing it and creating a financially sustainable project, and while his objective is far off he definitely understands the scale of his undertaking. We at UEL wish him the best in his efforts, and we are hoping he keeps in touch so that we may continue to update you on the progress of the mill's revitalization.

- King Pie


TRIP 1

Pictures do not do this place justice... it is massive, so massive that we couldn't even see it all this trip. The main structure in general was a Shur-Gain feed mill, built sometime before 1946 (based on the initials and date we found scratched into a beam in the basement) and ending operation sometime in 1979 (based on a calendar on the wall). The small Farm Store, which took up a small part of the newer addition that juts from the front of the main building, ceased operation in 1997.

The first part we entered was the section under the main silos. The smell of moldy, rotten grain hit us before we even entered... inside the floor is the piled with it. This room was pretty open, with a large overhead gantry crane on one side, and the silos on the other. At the end of the room sits the shaft to a rope-operated one-man elevator which serviced all the floors except the basement. To the right is a ladder we took to the first "ladder room" up in the part next to the silos. This was a little room about 4ft by 8ft and was not only drifted in rotten grain, it had literally a solid foot of thick dusty cobwebs hanging from the ceiling.... grain dust is so thick here that you can taste it. The room also contained some kind of grain machine. Now the only way into or out of this room was the ladder. Jimbo and Citizen-X checked out the second ladder room, while King Pie and I checked out the old machinery. The second ladder room turned out to be also drifted with grain, but was larger and had a rusty and also completely inaccessible catwalk across it to the structure on top of the silos.

After we had seen all there was to see in the Silo section, we exited and went around to the main mill building running paralell to the river since the silo section did not have a way into the rest of the mill. Anyway, at the main building we found a very conveinient pre-existing entrance to the basement, although it was a bit of a tight squeeze. Inside the basement are a lot of rusty gears and wheels, and the (disconnected) shaft of the long-removed mill wheel sticking out of the wall. Now to explain here; each level of the main building is laid out pretty well the same: incredibly steep narrow stairs going up on the right, and the right side of the level is always open and the left side always contained either some kind of machinery or storage bins, or both. The whole building is filled with vintage posters from the 1960s and 70s, and there's numerous NO SMOKING signs which should be heeded at all costs: grain dust is explosive and in some parts there's enough of it to choke on. This building also contained several dead cats, as well as copious amounts of cat shit. Watch where you step....

1st floor: right side of this level was wide open and had an old workbench still containing some tools and cans of oil, and a small machine of some sort. The left side held a small storage bin and behind that, a huge rusted machine of some kind, as well as a lot of troughs and pipes. Around a small partition wall is masses of old machinery and large door. Going through a large door at the back, we find the Safe Room, which contained some cabinets and some old carts and more machinery except the back part, which had only part of the floor remaining and contained the safe itself. This section of the floor had a calendar from 1979 and yellowed poster saying "Metric is Coming". Also on this floor is an entrance into the newer addition which I'll talk about in a minute.

2nd floor: This level was wide open on the right again, and again contained the usual workbench. At the left was the openings to some small storage bins and a cupboard containing some kind of filters. There was also some small machinery sticking out of the walls and floor; namely a lot of belt-wheels and gear drives.

3rd floor: This is where the things got really dangerous. The staircase was rotting and the floor here had several holes, and was rotted almost straight through in some places. A wrong step here would lead to a quick fall to the floor below. On this floor is yet another workbench, and the very tops of the storage bins. Some beams ran accross the ceiling and above those was a long line of belt-wheels which could be accessed via a ladder (which Citizen-X insisted on climbing and investigating).

Now back to the addition. This had an office filled with old tools and machine parts and things, as well as some documents dated in the 1970s. The second part was empty except for some grain sacks and a stereo (bum shelter?) and it also had a cobwebbed phone on the wall. From this room there was a hallway, off of which was an office (still filled with Shur-Gain brochures and an old adding machine, among other things), and a washroom. Going through the large door at the end of the hall you come into the Farm Store which had some shelves and a desk and refridgerator. Past this is a mostly empty storage room. Finally the basement of the addition. This had an almost overpowering stench of chemicals, so we hurried in here. Things of interest were the old stepladders and an old machine of unknown function.

That concludes this investigation of the Thamesford Mill. We'll probably go back some time to get into the parts we missed, like the little shack up on the roof...

- Capone

VIEW GALLERY

VIEW GALLERY 2 (MAY 2007)*