Wright's Flour Mill
Encyclopedia
Wright's Flour Mill is located at Wharf Road Ponders End
which is part of the London Borough of Enfield
. It is Enfield's oldest working industrial building.
miller's house and offices flanking a 3½-storey watermill
of brick and white weatherboarding
. There has been a mill here since at least the late 16th century and possibly Domesday. George Reynolds Wright took full control of the mill in 1870. Originally powered by a back water of the River Lea. In 1913 owing to construction work at the nearby King George V Reservoir
the water supply which powered the millstones was cut off. The machinery was then converted to electricity
. Since then further improvements have been made.
's only family owned flour mill
Ponders End
Ponders End is a place in the London Borough of Enfield, North London located in an area generally known as the Lea Valley. It is roughly located in the area either side of Hertford Road between The Ride and the Boundary Public House and Wharf Road and the Southbury railway station/Kingsway...
which is part of the London Borough of Enfield
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
. It is Enfield's oldest working industrial building.
History
Some of the present buildings date back to 1789 and include the brick GeorgianGeorgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
miller's house and offices flanking a 3½-storey watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
of brick and white weatherboarding
Weatherboarding
Weatherboarding is the cladding or ‘siding’ of a house consisting of long thin timber boards that overlap one another, either vertically or horizontally on the outside of the wall. They are usually of rectangular section with parallel sides...
. There has been a mill here since at least the late 16th century and possibly Domesday. George Reynolds Wright took full control of the mill in 1870. Originally powered by a back water of the River Lea. In 1913 owing to construction work at the nearby King George V Reservoir
King George V Reservoir
The King George V Reservoir, also known as King George's Reservoir, is located in the London Borough of Enfield and is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supplies London with drinking water...
the water supply which powered the millstones was cut off. The machinery was then converted to electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. Since then further improvements have been made.
Today
The business is still owned by the Wright family making it LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's only family owned flour mill
External links
Further reading
- Buildings of England London 4: North by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus PevsnerNikolaus PevsnerSir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
p 451 ISBN 0-14-071049-3