Caring for their future: Recording, Repairing, & Researching Mills

Caring for their future: Recording, Repairing, & Researching Mills

Saturday 13 June 2026, 10am – 4.15pm

Watlington Hall, 44 Watlington Street, Reading RG1 4RJ

The conference will focus on the maintenance, repair and monitoring of mills and how to create, preserve and display documents.

Mildred Cookson and Nathanael Hodge from the Mills Archive Trust, will share their knowledge on caring for documents and images and project archivist Hei-Yan Tsui will share some finds from the Rex Wailes collection. Dr Toby Huitson and Duncan McCallum will explore the Mills at Risk theme and the intricacies of listing historic buildings. Justin Coombs will demonstrate his innovative Smartmolen Project, and we will also hear from water-mill expert Stephen Bartlett about flood warning and prevention for watermills.

There will be a chaired panel discussion with speakers after the morning talks and after the afternoon talks.

Refreshments will be available during break times.

 Delegates will have the opportunity to see some of Rex Wailes' drawings on display at the Mills Archive Trust.

The Mills Archive Trust will be providing a book stall (cash sales only).

Additional information and a detailed programme will be published at a later time.

You will learn and discover

By the end of the course, you will know/understand/be able to: 

• how to record and preserve documents

• obtain an overview of mills at risk and mill listing

• find out about the newest technology to monitor the wind flow of windmills

• hear about challenges about mill repairs and maintenance

Speaker Information

Mildred Cookson is a former miller and joined the SPAB Mills Section in 1976 and the Section Committee in 1984. She is particularly involved in working with millwrights; she also established the programme of one-day training courses and the Mill Repair Fund. She was previously a trustee of the SPAB and chairman of the Mills Section Committee, and is the editor of the Section’s magazine ‘Mill News’. She is also actively involved as a trustee of the Mills Archive Trust.

Nathanael Hodge has been Archivist of the Mills Archive Trust since 2016. In his role he is responsible for taking care of the Trust’s archival collections, making them available to the public in person and online, and ensuring the Archive adheres to professional standards and best practice.

Duncan McCallum, Chair of the SPAB, Duncan has almost 40 years of experience in the heritage sector. He studied planning and building conservation at Newcastle and York Universities and undertook a variety of heritage roles across England in local authorities. He joined English Heritage in 1996, later moving to Historic England. His final role there was as Strategy and Listing Director. He left in 2022 to devote his time to various heritage-related and other voluntary causes.

Justin Coombs has been a volunteer at Upminster Windmill for over 40 years, and led the final phases of the Heritage Lottery-funded restoration and activity programme.  During the 2020 pandemic he transferred his professional skills from software development and electronics to develop technology to remotely monitor the windmill.  This technology has now been deployed to over 30 windmills in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.  Justin will tell the story of how the technology was designed and built and how the data being collected is now contributing to mill maintenance and conservation.

Accessibility

• Ground floor access

How to get there

• The address is Watlington Hall, 44 Watlington Street, Reading RG1 4RJ 

• If you are travelling by train, the nearest station is Reading Station, which is around 15 minutes from Watlington Hall by bus or on foot

• There is no parking at the venue, but Queens Road car park is nearby, Queens Road, Reading RG1 4PX (satnav RG1 4AR) more information here

Photos and filming: We may take photos or videos at this event to be used in future promotion, including in print and online. Participants may take photos and short videos for personal use, with permission of the course leader and all other participants in frame. If you want to post on social media, please message SPAB's Comms Team (press@spab.org.uk or @spab1877) for permission. If your material is good, we might ask to share it with our followers.

All bookings are subject to our Terms and Conditions.

Photo credit: Brampton Mill © James Innerdale