Report - Healings Flour Mill, Tewkesbury July 2019

[mookster]

I first visited Healings Mill waaaaayyyy back in 2011, and back then on my visit half of the mill was locked tight. I went back a couple of times within the year, but found it sealed the first time and then arrived the second time to find Tewkesbury, and the grounds around the mill, completely underwater. Then the machinery began to be dismantled inside and the modern extensions were demolished, and I assumed following that turn of events the site would be developed. I was so convinced of this fact that I never bothered going again, not until a few photos of the mill surfaced recently. Cue me having a massive 'd'oh!' moment, so I decided a revisit was more than overdue to see if I could finally see the whole place.

History pinched from Historic England as per usual.

The former Borough Flour Mills at Tewkesbury, also known as Healings Flour Mills, is located by the River Avon with the Mill Avon passing to its east. There appears to be a long history of milling on the site and it was possibly where two mills were recorded in Domesday, and referred to as the town mills in the early C13. The two town mills were granted to Edward Hazlewood and Edward Tomlinson in 1581 and a mill referred to as Mr Blackburn’s Mill is recorded in 1733. Mill buildings are shown on the Borough Flour Mills site on the 1825 map of Tewkesbury and the bridge constructed 1822 across the Mill Avon to Quay Street (listed as Iron Bridge at Grade II) is also marked. The site is called The Quay on an 1840 enclosure map, by which time further mill buildings had been constructed.

By 1865 the mill was in the ownership of Samuel Healing, who rebuilt it as a steam-powered roller mill in 1865-6. Around the same time a brewery (listed at Grade II) was built on the east side of the Iron Bridge, on the corner of Quay Street, to a similar architectural treatment as the mill and was later used for flour storage as the Healings Warehouse. The new mill and its warehouses are shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1884. The mill building is at the north of the site with a railway to the mill quay running to its south across the widened Iron Bridge. Grain was brought to the quay by barges from Avonmouth. The warehouse building directly to the south of the tracks was connected via an upper level bridge to the mill. A further bridge is shown on the south side of the warehouse, connecting to buildings that may have dated from the earlier mill. Those buildings were replaced from 1889 by further warehouses built against the earlier warehouse, possibly built in two phases. The new arrangement is shown as a large single building on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1902. Structural issues in the 1889 building appear to have led to their interior adaptation and strengthening. Subsequently, the flour processing operation was altered and flour pumped via overhead pipes across the Mill Avon to the former brewery across the river.

Further mill buildings were replaced and extended to the west of the site in the 1930s and later. In the 1970s a change of ownership saw the refitting of the plant and machinery in the mill, which involved the adaptation of the internal floors and roof structure. A new brick range was constructed alongside the rear (west) wall of the mill. Other structures relating to milling activity, including grain silos, were built on the site in the later C20 and new equipment installed in the warehouses. The site was partially cleared of C20 structures and some of the plant and machinery to both the mill and warehouse were removed following the closure of the mill in 2006.

A nice chilled wander at the end of a good day - I'm happy I finally got to see the whole place, and re-shoot some of the other bits. Quite a lot has been cut out of one side of the mill leading to various sketchy areas and parts that have caved in, which makes it all the more fun.

Thanks for looking ​

 

[Pammyj]

Nice this

 

[TheTimeChamber]

That's nice!

 

[Lord Oort]

Tis a good little mooch this, did it a couple of years ago.

 

[obscurity]

looks alright that. Reminds me alot of the hovis mill in ramsgate years ago

 

[TranKmasT]

Nice update.

Interesting how the last couple of reports prior to this suggest the place as had it's day but your shots show theres still a lot of life left in the old girl. I imagine that's probably down to folks trying to use smart phones or no tripod to shoot the more challenging areas of the site.

Newbies please take note!

 

[mookster]

Nice update.

Interesting how the last couple of reports prior to this suggest the place as had it's day but your shots show theres still a lot of life left in the old girl. I imagine that's probably down to folks trying to use smart phones or no tripod to shoot the more challenging areas of the site.

Newbies please take note!

In the interests of full disclosure the externals and last shot were taken on my Huawei! Having said that the Huawei has a fantastic camera for a phone and it wasn't exactly poorly lit..

 

[Seffy]

Thanks for an update mate. Isn't half the building sinking ever so slightly so therefore it's at a slight angle? Can't remember if that's this one or another one ha. We ended up taking a large group of local kids in here when we were last there!

 

[HughieD]

That's a lot of pipe and tubage! Great shots. My missus has got a Huawei and it takes ace shots even in semi-low light.

 

[tumbles]

Thanks for an update mate. Isn't half the building sinking ever so slightly so therefore it's at a slight angle? Can't remember if that's this one or another one ha. We ended up taking a large group of local kids in here when we were last there!

The silo is leaning at a 20 degree angle. Basically its fucked, hence all the strapping on the front of it!

Developer bought this around 2008 so they've been sat on it for 11 years now. Given its listing status i reckon they're waiting for the silo to fall into the water

Nice pics @mookster - just had to check when I went hear, turns out it was nine years ago. Feeling fucking old right now :

 

[Urbex9901]

Nice update.

Interesting how the last couple of reports prior to this suggest the place as had it's day but your shots show theres still a lot of life left in the old girl. I imagine that's probably down to folks trying to use smart phones or no tripod to shoot the more challenging areas of the site.

Newbies please take note!

I am a newbie who visited and posted about this place - I took snaps on my iPhone XS as this was the first time I went to the place and wasn’t sure of what to expect. After 6 years of studying photography now, I can tell you, that a smartphone would indeed, as you said, ‘still a lot of life left in the old girl’. The difference between this guys photos and others’ is the variation of photography styles in different people. A phone for the first scout and to get into the group is perfectly alright