Nash Mills

Nash Mills is a civil parish within Hemel Hempstead and Dacorum Borough Council on the northern side of the Grand Union Canal, formerly the River Gade, and in the southernmost corner of Hemel Hempstead. There is evidence of a mill in this location since the 11th century and the row of 16th century mill cottages still remain. John Dickinson established a number of papermaking mills in the area in the 19th century (Nash Mill).

Nash Mills
Nash Mills local shopping parade, known as The Denes.
Nash Mills Location within Hertfordshire
Population	2,428 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	TL0505
District	Dacorum
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
Postcode district	HP3
Dialling code	01442
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Hemel Hempstead

The Nash Mill paper mill seen from the Grand Union Canal

Sign welcoming visitors to Nash Mills, on Barnacres Road.

Part of its area was reassigned in the 1980s from Three Rivers District Council & Abbots Langley Civil Parish. The borough council ward extends beyond the parish boundary.

The Mill

Main article: Nash Mill

A corn-mill in the area was recorded in the Domesday Book in the 11th century; it subsequently belonged, in the Middle Ages, to the Abbey of St Albans. The mill had been converted to papermaking in the late 18th century[2] and subsequently purchased in 1811 by John Dickinson and George Longman[3]

Nash Mill was renowned for its production of tough thin paper for Samuel Bagster's "Pocket Reference Bible". A major fire in 1813 was a setback, but the insurance enabled redevelopment for large scale production. After an experiment in 1887, fine rag paper was produced on electrically driven machines: a successful innovation at Nash Mill.[4]

In 1989, Nash Mill was sold to the international Sappi Group and continued to make paper until 2006, when it was closed down and sold. Redevelopment plans for housing were publicised in September 2007. By late 2010, the Mill site had been largely cleared, leaving the mill house, Stephenson's Cottage and the war memorial.[3]

Local history

John Dickinson had Nash Mills School built in 1847.[5]

Notable residents

• Arthur Evans, the archaeologist and excavator of Knossos.
• Sir John Evans, archaeologist, and father of Arthur Evans.

See also

• Abbot's Hill School
• Apsley, Hertfordshire
• John Dickinson Stationery Limited

References

1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
2. Hemel Hempstead Local History and Records Society (1981). History of Hemel Hempstead. Hemel Hempstead: Charter Trustees of Hemel Hempstead. p. 103. ISBN 0-9502743-1-3.
3. "Nash Mills, Hertfordshire". Archaeological Services & Consultancy Ltd. 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
4. Hemel Hempstead Local History and Records Society (1981). History of Hemel Hempstead. Hemel Hempstead: Charter Trustees of Hemel Hempstead. p. 107. ISBN 0-9502743-1-3.
5. "Nash Mills Church of England School". Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.

External links

• Media related to Nash Mills at Wikimedia Commons
• Nash Mills Parish Council.