Fromehall Mill, Stroud

I have been doing some research, trying to find ephemera which we can use to dress the window of the council offices next week o promote the Stroud Film Festival.

I went to Fromehall Mill to meet a friend of a friend, who runs a video production company there, on the off chance they had some old lights or cameras. I may get a couple of items from them next week.  A later trip to the museum may also turn up some goodies once the curator has a chance to check their archive, again next week.

After meeting Andrew here, I walked around the back of the mill building to check on whether its condition had deteriorated much since I was last here with a camera about two years ago.  It certainly hasn't improved but the signs of damage weren't markedly worse. The owner rents out the ground floor but the rest of the building is empty and unloved.  The gutters are broken as are the drainpipes and the resulting water pouring down the walls is probably the biggest threat. 

It is expected that he will sell the building for development into flats at some point soon, which will be sad to see.  These buildings still have a future as places of employment and they are amazing spaces inside. I met the tenant of the ground floor, who runs a carpentry business, and he said I could have a look around the interior if I come back another day.  I will definitely do so and I'm sure Camilla, the chair of the Preservation Trust will want to come along as well.  To get this image I had to climb a rickety and rusty fire escape, rather like the one in the picture, leading into a rundown warehouse.

I've noticed that there's another Dereliction Challenge running at the moment, but I don't think this shows enough to warrant offering it to that group.  Maybe Tmlhereandthere will disagree.