Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    138
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 48 Times in 33 Posts

    Default Millenium Mills - January 2012

    The Millennium Mills is a site I have wanted to visit for sometime now and have been unlucky on a couple of occassions to miss fellow explorers visits. I finally managed to tick this one off after meeting up with UrbanX and CovertUrbex. Have to say serious Kudos to CovertUrbex on this one as he was the one that did the leap of faith and allow UrbanX and I to traverse the Ladder of Common Sense.
    The history has been covered over and over again however here is my slant on it.

    A little quote from a fellow urbexer -

    “Like a booby-trapped House of Horrors, danger awaits their every step in Millennium Mills. The rotten floors are comparable to thick slices of Emmenthal, riddled with pigeon faeces and yawning holes (where machinery has been removed) that drop eight or nine storeys in some places. ”
    —Christian Koch
    I would however say this was probably more aimed at the older of the buildings we explored and indeed decided to bypass due to the obvious state of the floors and external fire escape. We didn't really have to play cat and mouse with the onsite security with our access time giving us the uppoer hand of being able to see him long before he saw us.

    History

    Millennium Mills was designed and built by millers William Vernon & Sons in 1905, its construction was overseen by William Vernon's son. The mills were extensive, featuring two plants, equipped by Henry Simon Ltd, that had a capacity of 100 sacks per hour. Upon completion W. A. Vernon described the mills as "palatial". Vernon and Sons named the mill after "Millenium Flour" their most successful product and flour variety after winning the The Miller Challenge Cup at the 1899 International Bakers Exhibition. The flour was milled from the best wheats of the world using a carefully designed industrial process. The victory made Vernon and Sons world famous and made them the dominant force in the English flour market.
    The construction of Millennium Mills at the Royal Victoria Dock allowed this new flour to be brought to the South of England market.
    An explosion in 1917 at the Brunner Monds munitions works partially destroyed this mill along with the other two mills in the imediate area. The munitions works was about 100 yards east of where Millennium Mills stood, and the adjoining grain silos and flour warehouses were amongst the 17 acres of buildings that the Port of London Authority estimated were affected.
    1920 saw Vernon & Sons taken over by Spillers Limited and ownership of Millennium Mills was passed across too. Spillers was an established flour milling business founded in 1829, which subsequently went into the production of dog food and animal feeds and by 1927.
    Millennium Mills was rebuilt as a 10-storey concrete art deco building in 1933.
    During the Second World War many port mills throughout the country sustained severe damage from bombing, infact almost 75 per cent of the national capacity was concentrated at the ports, making them primary targets for air raids. In London, Spillers' Millennium Mills as well as Rank's Premier Mills were substantially destroyed. Resulting in large scale post war reconstruction between 1945 and 1950 this despite a severe deficit of raw materials and strict licensing. At this time Millennium Mills was rebuilt, including a windowless steel-framed infill on the west side, and was in operation by September 1953.
    The Docks finally closed in 1981,with many businesses relocating to Tilbury. The LDDCand the Zoological Society of London discussed using the area for a public aquarium, but funding for this was hard to find and the idea was eventually mothballed.Rank, CWS mills along with B and C silos were subsequently demolished by the LDDC in the 1990s. D silo to the south was saved by virtue of the fact its Grade II listed.While Millennium Mills itself is locally listed by Newham Council.

























    The must do slide shot



    Some gimp in a mask - SOrry Coverturbex had to be said


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,262
    Thanks
    43
    Thanked 515 Times in 258 Posts

    Default Re: Millenium Mills - January 2012

    Awesome mill, love the pics too.
    Under the radar, over the top

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Posts
    935
    Thanks
    77
    Thanked 225 Times in 209 Posts

    Default Re: Millenium Mills - January 2012

    Cracking pics mate would love to go and see this place
    "God will forgive them. He'll forgive them, and allow them into heaven. I can't live with that."

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Brrrrap'ford brap brap brap brap brap brap brap
    Posts
    2,029
    Thanks
    64
    Thanked 479 Times in 408 Posts

    Default Re: Millenium Mills - January 2012

    How do you eat through a gas mask?


    flickr my bean

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    138
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 48 Times in 33 Posts

    Default Re: Millenium Mills - January 2012

    You will have to ask CovertUrbex that its him in the gimp mask

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Newcastle
    Posts
    133
    Thanks
    24
    Thanked 12 Times in 11 Posts

    Default Re: Millenium Mills - January 2012

    Nice pics
    "There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing"
    - Alfred Wainwright

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    preston
    Posts
    569
    Thanks
    43
    Thanked 115 Times in 103 Posts

    Default Re: Millenium Mills - January 2012

    great set there mate, its one place id love to see, just need to bother going down at some point!
    check out the website scrappynw.com
    flickr

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    138
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 48 Times in 33 Posts

    Default Re: Millenium Mills - January 2012

    thanks all, yeah scrappy it is a must see and I am sure we missed a chunk as its a really weird layout some parts of floors are only accessed via certain stairs through design. Definately one to hit access when its dark though.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Norfolk
    Posts
    394
    Thanks
    51
    Thanked 84 Times in 82 Posts

    Default Re: Millenium Mills - January 2012

    Fantastic place, looks like you could spend some time there.

Similar Threads

  1. Healey Mills Marshalling Yard, January 2012
    By Wakey Lad in forum Industrial sites
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 03-01-2012, 06:03 PM
  2. Spillers Millenium Mills - April 2011
    By nelly in forum Industrial sites
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 09-05-2011, 11:48 PM
  3. Spillers millenium Mills may 2011
    By wevsky in forum Industrial sites
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-05-2011, 01:03 PM
  4. Archived: Millenium Mills, London
    By Fieldym in forum Industrial sites
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 24-07-2009, 06:19 PM
  5. Millenium Mills, E16
    By fiendicus in forum Industrial sites
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 12-06-2009, 02:46 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •