Three Mills

The Three Mills are former working mills on the River Lee in the East End of London, one of London’s oldest extant industrial centres. The largest and most powerful of the four remaining tidal mills is possibly the largest tidal mill in the world.

The River Lea Tidal Mill Trust Ltd owns the House Mill and the Miller's House buildings, which are used for educational projects and as conference spaces. The "Lower Lea Project" is also based at "Three Mills" in The Miller's House. The Prescott Channel, a former flood relief channel, to the east, creates Three Mills Island, and the mills share this with the Three Mills Studios, a 20 acre (81,000 m²) film studio, which makes a large number of major films and television programmes.

History

It is thought that there were 8 or possibly 9 mills on the River Lee in Stratford at the time of the Domesday Book. These would therefore have been the earliest recorded examples of a tidal mill system.

Some time during the middle ages, Stratford Langthorne Abbey acquired the three mills, and the area became known as "Three Mills." By the time Henry VIII dissolved the abbey in the 1530s, the mills were grinding flour for the bakers of "Stratford-atte-Bow", who were celebrated for the quality of their bread and who supplied the huge City of London market. In 1588, one of the mills was described as a "gunpowder mill". During the 16th century the three mills were reduced to two (which today are the "House Mill" and the "Clock Mill"). In the 17th century the mills were used to grind grain, which was then used to distil alcohol; the mills became a major supplier to the alcohol trade and gin palaces of London.

The "House Mill" was built in 1776 (and after a fire destroyed it, quickly rebuilt) by Daniel Bisson. It is a major grade I listed building. The "Clock Mill" was rebuilt by Philip Metcalfe between 1815 and 1817 incorporating the old clock, and an older bell. There was also a windmill which survived until about 1840. The "House Mill" continued to operate until 1940 and the "Clock Mill" until 1952.

Ownership changed relatively frequently during the 17th to the late 19th centuries, until 1872 when the Nicholson family, gin producers in Clerkenwell, acquired "Three Mills". Distilling ceased after the mills sustained severe air-raid damage during the Second World War. The "Miller's House" was destroyed in 1941 and rebuilt in 1995 with a modern interior and rear part, but retaining the original facade. "Three Mills" was used for bottling and warehousing by Bass Charrington and Hedges & Butler.

The House Mill remains the largest tidal mill in the world, although the water wheels are not in operation. The building is owned by The River Lea Tidal Mill Trust Ltd and is open to visitors on Sunday afternoons during the summer. It is one of only four grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Newham.

The creation, for the 2012 Summer Olympics construction work, of the Three Mills Lock, on the Prescott Channel; and the Three Mills Wall River Weir will create a head of water behind the mill that may mean that it can be operated again.

Three Mills Studios

The site became a dedicated centre for film and television production with the establishment in the 1980s of "Bow Studios", "Three Mills Island Studios" and Edwin Shirley Productions. In the mid 1990s the three studios merged to become Three Mills Studios under the management of Workspace Group Plc.

In August 2004, the London Development Agency acquired Three Mills Studios as part of its ongoing commitment to develop London’s creative economies and strengthen the city’s position as a key location for filmmaking.

tudio facilities

*16 stages (totalling convert|120000|sqft|m2|0)
*convert|20|acre|km2|2
*200+ production offices
*6 rehearsal rooms
*64-seat screening room
*restaurant & bar

External links

* [http://www.chainreactiontheatre.co.uk/ Chain Reaction Theatre Company - Educational theatre champions based at Three Mills Studios]
* [http://www.housemill.org.uk/ The River Lea Tidal Mill Trust Ltd.] also known as House Mill
* [http://www.3mills.com/ 3 Mills Studio's official website]