Frogmore Paper Mill, Hemel Hempstead

Frogmore Paper Mill is located in Apsley, Hertfordshire, close to Hempstead. The Mill was built on an island in the River Gade that forms part of the Grand Union Canal. The mill initially started as a corn mill in the year 1086 before switching to a paper mill.

There is however, no surviving documents that state the exact year when the mill changed into a paper mill. It is also the oldest paper mill in the world since no other mill can pre-date it.

The mill which has been in the ownership of The Apsley Paper Trail was used for fulling, removing oil and other impurities from cloth and textiles in the year 1289. After that, it once more became a fulling mill before officially being turned to a paper mill. The first mechanized paper machine in the whole world was installed here in the year 1803 and was funded by Sealy and Henry Fourdrinier. The machine was engineered by Bryan Donkin, based upon the idea by Nicolas-Loius Robert. It was set to have a continuous production of paper rolls but unfortunately, due to the high cost of the production paper, the Fourdrinier brothers became bankrupt by the year 1810. Due to this bankruptcy, the Fourdrinier brothers were prompted to transfer ownership to the Grand Junction Canal which was the predecessor of the Grand Union Canal. The Grand Junction Canal was for the most part of the 19th century the owner of this mill.

In the year 1851, the chemical production of paper from wood(now referred as soda pulp) was initiated at the mill. It also became linked to Two Waters Mill which is also near Hemel Hempstead later in the year 1887. In the year 1929, the premises were bought by the British Paper Company which was founded in the year 1890. It took over the operations of the mill before later selling it to the current owners who are The Apsley Paper Trail, a charitable organization based in Britain.
The mill’s use has been theatrical productions, including the rock musical Rent and currently has a number of eleven staff employed there.