Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The Empire Paper Mills (formerly Ingress Abbey Paper Mills), constructed between 1906 and 1975. The Mill was located on the south bank of the Thames Estuary, in the northeastern corner of Ingress Park, the Formal Gardens and Park associated with Ingress Abbey. It closed down in 1993. The site is now being redeveloped as part of a housing development.

Monument Types

• PAPER MILL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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The Empire Paper Mills, formerly the Ingress Abbey Paper Mills, were constructed along the eastern side of Ingress Park [TQ 57 NE 97], the Park and Gardens associated with Ingress Abbey [TQ 57 NE 93], a substantial Tudor-Gothic mansion of 1833 [1].

The recent redevelopment of the site of Ingress Abbey and Park, included the demolition of all the buildings associated with the Paper Mills, hence the decision for a Historic Buildings Record to be made of the buildings in mitigation of their development. An unusually large amount of documentary and oral evidence relating to the mill had survived. This enabled the creation of a detailed site gazeteer and an interpretation of the functioning of the complex, outlining the process flow through the buildings at two different periods during the mill's life.

The mill comprised of a compact complex of substantial steel-framed buildings and associated structures constructed between 1906 and 1975. The mill machinery had been removed before the survey.

History of the Mills:

1906-1919:
Between 1906 and 1919 the Mill was known as the Ingress Abbey Paper Mill. The original buildings were constructed between 1906 and 1908 for Wall Paper Maunfacturers Ltd. They were designed by a firm of American engineers, J G Wallace and Co, and initially equipped with the most modern American plant, including 5 paper making machines. The main contractor undertaking the construction was J B Lingham of Northfleet. Extensive remedial works were carried out before construction began, due to the low lying nature of the site and its proximity to the Thames. The main buildings of the complex were steel framed, with external brick walls, internal concrete floors and felt covered roofs. They consisted of a Machine hall and north wing, a Power house (containing two steam engines) and a Boiler House and chimney. In the Machine Hall, the paper making machines (two from 1908-1911; five from 1911-1915; six from 1915-1926; four from 1926-1940; three 1940-1987; two from 1987-1993 ) on the first floor were all driven by steam engines on the ground floor. The first floor also contained a condensing engine, driving the beaters in the ground floor of the beater room. The steam for all the engines was provided in four batteries of two boilers each, on the ground floor of the boiler house. The boiler house chimney was c.85m high and octagonal in shape. A power distribution gallery fed steam from the Boiler house to the Power house via the Machine Hall.
The complex had substantial wharf facilities for the importation of raw materials and a railway line for the export of finished products, which ran through Ingress Park and was linked to a siding of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (which may have become disused by 1966).
In 1912-13 an extension was added to the first floor of the building. Financial pressures may have lead Wall Paper Manufacturers to sell the Mill in 1919.

1919-1952:
In 1919 the complex was purchased by Associated Newspapers and under its new ownership, the name of the complex was changed to the Empire Paper Mills. During the 1920's the mill was largely turned over to the production of newsprint, tied as it was to a newspaper concern. In the early 1930's however, it reverted to the production of fine writing and other papers, as despite the overall size of the Mills, the paper machines were too small and not fast enough to produce the quantities of newsprint required.
A number of changes were made to the buildings under Associated Newspapers' ownership. These included the addition of a mechanics workshop to the west side of the mill in 1922, whilst in 1929 a large Paper store was built in the south-eastern corner of Ingress park, south of the main complex. Initially this store held reels of newsprint and later reams of paper. This made Empire unusual as it could hold its own stocks rather than send them out to distributors. During World War Two, a large air raid shelter for employees was built south of the mechanics workshop.

1952-1989:
In 1952, the complex was sold to the Reed Group, which modernised the site over the next ten years. Most of the original machinery was replaced with more modern equipment. Two new open-air oil fired boilers were installed in 1956, replacing the coal fired boilers in the boiler room. These new boilers were the first of their kind to be installed at a British Paper Mill. The two steam engine driven generating units in the Power House were also replaced by a steam turbine. The steam engines on the ground floor of the Machine Hall, driving the paper making machines and beaters, were replaced by electric motors during this period. The New Salle was built to the south of the original finishing building between 1959-1961.

1989-1993:
A new Reel warehouse was built in 1974-1975. In the late 1970's however, the Empire entered a period of decline, running at a loss for its last 15 years. In 1989 Empire was sold to Tofta, a Norwegian Paper Making Firm. In 1992, a management buyout took place, but the deterioating state of the buildings and machinery made closure inevitable. The mill finally closed in november 1993, making over 300 staff redundant. The steam turbine and two paper making machines were sold to a paper mill near Calcutta, the rest of the useable plant was distributed amongst other mills in Britain.

1999 onwards:
The site is being redeveloped as part of a housing development.

Products of the Mill:

The record states that the products of the mill changed through time to adapt to the needs of the various owners. Writing and printing paper remained a staple trade of the mill from its opening until its closure, with the exception of the 10+ years after 1919 when it was turned entirely over to newsprint. Wallpaper was regularly produced, while other products such as toilet paper were produced for short periods only.

Other points of interest:

The paper making process uses vast amounts of water and to supply the mill two wells were sunk inland. One was at Greenhithe, but the main well was sunk at Southfleet, 2km inland from the mill, from which water was pumped to a holding reservoir of half a million gallons capacity, between the well and the mill. From this reservoir it was pumped into the complex as required.
Fire prevention was of paramount importance, hence the steel framed structure and concrete floors. The mill was also fitted with self-closing fire doors. In addition the mill was provided with a fire pump house, hydrants, sprinklers and latterly its own fire engine, housed in a garage close to the pump house.
Attention was also paid to the quality of life of the workers. A model housing estate was erected to the south of the mill, which still survives as the Knockhall estate. The mill itself was provided with catering and dining facilities, recreation grounds and gardens (although the latter are not located, the mill's position within the grounds of Ingress Park and Gardens suggest an answer to this).
The Mill appears to have been plainly decorated for most of its life, although there was some evidence of a 'corporate colour scheme' of green and white, when the Mill was owned by Reed Group.

The Standing Structures:

The Wharf, transport facilities and raw materials storage:

The jetty and wharf facilities were built between 1906-1908 and extended before 1933. The pier at the north end of the central jetty handled larger ships, whilst smaller vessels docked at the wharf. The pier was equipped with a travelling transporter to unload ships and a coal gantry, running from its east end to the coal bunkers above the first floor of the Boiler house. The wharf was formed from three jetties, the central jetty projecting out the furthest, with the pier set at right angles to it forming a T-shape. The wharf, central jetty and pier were built of substantial wooden posts, cross-braced, supporting steel girders across which timber planks formed the surface of the jetty.
The raw materials unloaded at the wharf were stored in three warehouses for wood pulp, esparto grass and rags. These warehouses were demolished in the 1930s. Bales of pulp were then stored in the Pulp yard, to the west of the main complex. Two metal oil storage tanks and a reinforced concrete water tank (of much later date) were also located in this area.
As previously stated, the Mill was served by an extensive standard gauge railway network, connecting the wharf and the Mill to a main railway line. The network was expanded in 1929 to take in the newly built paperstore. The line was served by steam locomotives and latterly diesel engines, until road haulage became the preferred mode of transport for finished products in the 1960's. Substantial sections of the track survived up to the recent redevelpment of the site. The main vehicular access to the site, was from the south west, past the former naval college buildings and concrete road surfaces surrounded the later buildings, such as the New Salle.

North wing of the Complex:

This comprised (from west to east) of the two storey Beater Room, the two storey Rotary House, the four storey Bleach House and the four storey Esparto house. Although parts of the complex have been substantially redeveloped, these buildings formed part of the original complex built between 1906-1908. At that time, the primary processes required to convert raw materials into stock suitable for use in the paper making machines was undertaken in these buildings. The floors in these buildings were lit by windows in the north and south walls, with fire doors providing a link between each house and metal staircases providing access between each floor, with a lift to all floors in the Esparto House.
The ground floor of the Beater room would have housed machinery associated with the beaters and washers on the first floor, driven by a steam engine in the machine room to the south. All that survived at the time of recording were various machine bases and the remains of a hydrapulper. On the first floor the original beaters and washers were replaced in the late 1950's/early 1960's by hyrapulpers, although only the machine bases had survived The room was initially served by an electric winch, which picked bales off the railway line, although this was later replaced by a pulp conveyor, which fed the hydrapulpers from the ground floor.
The rotary house was originally five storeys high, the upper stories dealt with the preparation and storage of bleach, clay and alum liquors. Between 1959 and 1961, subsidence caused the Rotary House to be rebuilt, two storeys high. The ground floor housed six wet machines which received various pulp and half stocks, before they were sent to the beaters, while the first floor housed four rotary rag and paper boilers, although only the machine bases survived at the time of recording. There was a massive sub oval reinforced concrete tank on the ground floor (marked Dump chest no.1), with associated machine bases.
The Bleach house originally housed eleven bleach towers on its ground floor, which rose up to the first floor, with associated stock chests. This was all removed in the 1950's/1960's when the ground and first floors formed the china clay department, with a large china clay storage bin on both floors. The first floor also contained a partitioned area for a large plane, used to plane down the tops of the vacuum boxes from the paper making machines, which were transferred in and out of the floor through a loading door and ramp. The upper floors were originally used for the treatment of rags and papers and latterly to store coloured broke / waste with the third floor also acting as a storage centre for foundry patterns.
Esparto House, housed four filters on the ground floor, which was later used as a carpenter's shop. The first floor held seven kiers for boiling Esparto grass, which were removed in the 1950's/1960's, the second floor was converted into a restaurant, while the third floor was initially used for unbaling rags and paper and later turned over to storage. Again, little survived in the building at the time of recording beyond the machinery bases and partition walls.

Machine Hall and Power House:

These housed the paper making and primary power machinery throughout the life of the mills from 1906-1993. It was situated directly south of the North wing.

The machine hall was three storeys high, the first floor open internally to a height of two floors. The ground floor of the Machine Hall housed the steam engines which drove the papermaking machines on the floor above and machinery in the Beater room. It also allowed access / maintenance to be carried out to the underneath of the paper making machines. The northern part of the floor housed an east/west orientated power distribution gallery, which carried pipes from the Boiler House to the Power House. The ground floor was lit by windows in its east and west walls, while fire doors linked the floor to the ground floors of the Power House, Finishing Building and Beater Room. Stairs provided access to the first floor. The ground floor also provided access to a flooded lower level, which may have been present beneath all parts of the original mill complex and could also be accessed from the Boiler House. The lower level had a low ceiling height and was mainly used to accommodate large diameter pipes.
At the time of recording only the machine bases had survived, along with traces of the gallery, a possible original American extractor fan and four pairs of stock chests for the four paper making machines in the main part of the first floor. A sunken railway track also ran across the southern end of the ground floor, used to take away machine rolls for regrinding (lowered through a void in the first floor).
The first floor was also lit by windows in the east and west walls, with fire doors linking it to the first floors of the Power house, the Finishing building and the Beater room. The roof trusses supported two steel hoods over the paper making machines, which collected moisture from the machines to protect the wooden roof above. Ducts ran off the hoods, which vented into hollow brick piers in the east and west walls. Extractor fans were also built into these walls. A travelling transporter was positioned over the north end of the no.3 and no.4 machine positions. The machine bases of the paper making machines survived at the time of recording in various states of decay. Two of the four pairs of stock chests rose up to the first floor. A large metal tank had replaced the chest at the northern end of machine no.3. Various other machine bases were recorded on the first floor and it was noted that the spaces between the machines were floored with cast iron tiles.

The Power House was two storeys high. It is situated directly west of the machine room and linked to it via a fire door. It had windows on its north, south and west walls. The majority of the floor space is occupied by the concrete generating unit bases. A metal staircase connected it to the first floor. The first floor had a similar window and door layout to the ground floor. Various voids and machine bases marked out the positions of the original generating units and later turbine. A large overhead crane was positioned over the turbine base. Various panels and offices were recorded around the sides of the first floor. Three additions to the first floor were recorded. A control panel for the open-air oil fired boilers, a set of steps to the engineer's office and several large switchboards.

The Finishing Building:

Part of the original mill complex, used to cut, sort and pack the finished products of the paper mill, before they were dispatched for distribution. It was partially superseded by the New Salle, but continued in its original role until the Mill shut in 1993. It was a four storey rectangular building, situated directly south of the Machine Hall. The ground floor housed a pair of cutters and was used as the shipping room. The first floor initially held a super calendar machine until it was removed in the 1960's. An extension was built onto this floor in 1912/13 and this was later linked to the first floor of the New Salle by two covered bridges. The second floor was originally used for cutting and other activities relating to the production of finished paper and the third floor, known as the Salle by the 1930's, was used for counting, sorting and packing of paper sheets. The ground and first floors were linked to the machine hall by fire doors.
The ground floor was also serviced by an external ramp and on its south side doorways provided access to a loading platform. The east and west ends of the building are served by wooden staircases and lifts to all floors. The floors are lit by windows in their south and west walls and have retained some evidence of their machinery and partitioning. On the ground floor this consisted of storage units, machine bases, concrete supports for the calendar machine on the first floor, a narrow railtrack with circular turntable and partitions for a roll grinding machine, a truck store and packing department. The central part of the floor had two galleries constructed over it.
The first floor was linked to the office building to the east via a bridge, another door provides access to an external metal walkway. The western end of the floor held the Super Calendar Machine, in a bay that was open internally to the roof of the building, from which a large crane was suspended. At the east end of the floor were a laboratory and a timekeeping office. The extension to the first floor contained a conference room, an oilers' rest room and a canteen.
On the second floor two large circular features formed the bases of cutters which could be turned through 360 degrees, linked to the lifts by a metalled trackway. A large fan to the north was linked into the machine hall extraction system.
On the third floor, there was a gallery above the floor at the western end, the Salle forewoman's office, while the north east corner housed the Sampling Room.

The Boiler House:

Part of the original complex, it provided the steam for the engines situated in other parts of the complex and underwent radical alterations during its lifetime. When the building was recorded it was two storeys high, although it was originally much higher. The ground floor originally held the boilers in four batteries of two. The first floor held the base of the steel coal bunkers, which rose for a further two storeys. The chimney attached to the boiler house was c.85m in height when built. The boilers may have fallen into disuse after 1956, the chimney was dismantled in 1958.
At the time of recording, the ground floor was lit by windows in the west wall, while a metal stairway and walkway provided access to the first floorl. Partitions provided workshop spaces on the south side of the floor. An opening in the ground floor, provided access to the flooded lower level. A raised bridge linked the ground floor of the Boiler house to the Machine Hall, carrying steam pipes. The first floor also contains a number of partitioned rooms. To the east of the boiler house a ruinous structure was noted, built onto the Boiler House.

The Causticizing and Evaporating Rooms:

Built north-east of the Boiler House, as one unit, the causticizing room was two storeys high, the evaporating room three storeys high, the latter a rectangular cell in the north-west corner of the former.
The ground floor of the Evaporating room as built was used for lime storage, the first floor contained pairs of vacuum pumps and evaporators, the second floor later housed alum storage tanks. The ground floor was split into two different levels by a wooden platform, the upper level housed a hooded wooden tank and a hooded metal cylinder (possibly used for mixing and belt driven by a line shaft, powered by an electric motor). The floor had doorways in its north, east and south walls, the south doorway giving access to the ground floor of the causticizing room. A metal staircase provided access to the first floor, which had a blocked opening in its western wall and an eastern firedoor providing access to the first floor of the causticizing room. The floor contained two horizontal circular tanks at its western end and a metal staircase providing access to the second floor. This floor was lit by windows in its north, south and east walls, one of which was converted to provide access to the roof of the causticizing room. The second floor contained two alum tanks, one at either end of the floor, with a concrete pump base between them. A wooden ladder provided access to the roof of the evaporating room, on which sat a corrugated steel shed of unknown function.
The ground floor of the Causticizing Room contained a number of concrete and metal tanks (some of which were covered), used for the storage and recycling of waste products from the paper making process and latterly housed a soft water plant. It was lit by windows in the west wall, while the windows in the north wall have been converted into doorways. The east wall contained two blocked doorways.
The first floor housed five causticizing pans against the south wall, covered by a large hood. It was lit by windows in the west and north walls and skylights in the roof. A fire door in the south wall provided access to the upper part of the raised bridge linking the ground floors of the Machine Hall and Boiler House. A breeze block wall had at some point been inserted into at the eastern end of the floor, with a door in its south side providing access to an external area. A wooden loading platform ran along the north side of the floor, with a mesh partition in its south-west corner. Before 1970, a bridge of steel girder and asbestos construction with metal flooring, was built linking the first floor of the Causticizing Room to the same level of the Machine hall.

The Recovery Room:

It was situated directly north of the boiler house and east of the causticizing room and was of the same construction and materials as the other original parts of the complex. In 1911, the southern half of this single storey building was occupied by a large porion, with a rotary furnace at the east end and luxiviating platforms to the south (the exact function of these is unclear). By 1964, the Recovery Room was used as a roll stores and probably housed roll grinding machinery. The room was lit by windows in the north wall and had three doorways in its east wall. A 15 ton capacity crane was positioned over a depression on the south side of the floor, which formed an access for railway wagons

Other structures:

An office block was located to the east of the Finishing Building. It was three storeys high, although initally the first and second floors were only half the area of the ground floor (the first floor was extended in 1958, the second floor in 1970). A fireproof vault on the east side of the building rose through all three floors (although it was later demolished on the second floor). The second floor of the building was linked to the first floor of the Finishing Building by a covered bridge. The ground floor housed the science laboratories for the mill, the first and second were given over to administration.

A block of single storey offices dating from at least 1964, sat south of the Boiler House. These formed a drawing office, an engineer's office block and the planning department.

A wharf office and associated structures sat west of the Power House. All these structures were single storey.

The oil fired boilers replaced the existing plant in 1956. They were situated south of the Power House. Only the boiler support posts had survived at the time of recording, along with a tall oval chimney, built of pre-cast concrete sections.

The Smithy was a single storey building east of the Machine Hall.

The Mechanics shop was built onto the western end of the Finishing Building between 1920-22, equipped with planes, lathes and other machinery, it was used as such until the mill closed down. It is lit by windows in the west wall, with doors in the west and south walls. A metal staircase and walkway in the south wall gave access to the first floor of the Finishing Building.

The General Stores were located west of the Mechanics Shop. A two storey building, the upper floor projected over the ground floor at the south end to form a covered loading area.

The Fire Pump house was also part of the original complex, built south of the boiler house. Octagonal in shape and two storeys high it originally contained two powerful fire pumps with their own steam supply. These were subsequently removed and a water storage tank was inserted into the upper storey. At a later date the mill acquired a fire engine, which was housed in a shed south east of the pump house.
Two groups of water treatment plant were recorded on the west side of the main complex. The northern plant consisted of several concrete tanks and a sunken tank that may have been used to store tidal water from the Thames, which was needed to cool the steam turbine on the first floor of the Power House. The southern plant consisted of two one storey buildings, both with flat roofs.
There were several other tanks located around the exterior of the main complex. The circular FulnerTank, directly east of the Machine Hall, was two storeys high and dates to at least 1964. Used for stock storage, it narrowed to a funnel at its base, with an enclosed circular walkway around the top, with windows in the southern side. Another smaller oval tank was recorded south of the Fulner tank. There were two horizontal oil storage tanks on a brick plinth, west of the Power House and a condensate de-oiling plant (a large metal tank covered by a lean-to), west of the Boiler House.

The New Salle and Reel Warehouse:

The New Salle was built between 1959-61 to expand the mill and replace the ageing facilities of the Finishing Building. It consisted of two storeys, with a steel frame, clad in brick and with a north lit roof structure. It was situated south of the main complex. The ground floor had two lorry loading bays, in each of the north and south walls, two lifts at the south end and a staircase at the north. Partitions had been used to create a number of rooms, while the central area still contained elements of the wrapping and packing equipment. The first floor was lit by irregular fenestration on its east and west walls. Two covered bridges linked it to the first floor of the Finishing Building. The floor contained machine bases which related to former packing, cutting and wrapping equipment. Some of these had overhead cranes positioned above them. At the southern end of the floor was a raised portacabin, with a view over the working area.

The Reel warehouse was located at the south end of the New Salle, built between 1974-5. It replaced the old Paper Store to the south as the main reel storage area. It was two storeys high, with a steel frame clad in corrugated asbestos and a projected loading bay on its east side.

The Paper Store:

Built south of the main complex in 1929, it was used to store reels of imported newsprint. In the mid 1960's it was turned over to ream storage, ceasing to be used for reels when the Reel Warehouse opened. A two storey structure, with a north-lit roof structure, steel framed and brick built, it had loading doors at the east end of both the north and south walls, with three small doorways in the west wall. Internally, the building was divided into five east/west bays, each bay with a 3 ton capacity overhead crane positioned at the east end. A sunken railway ran along the eastern edge of the interior. Various extensions were built onto the store in 1968. All brick built, they comprised of an office, a fork lift truck store, a boiler house and an oil storage tank [2].

<1> RCHME, 1994, The Lower Thames in 1994, a photographic survey from the river Blackwell to Tilbury and Greenwich to Gravesend, Neg. AA94/3418 (Photograph). SWX9333.

<2> AOC Archaeology Group, 1999, Empire Paper Mills, Greenhithe, Kent. Historic Building Record. (Unpublished document). SKE12254.

Sources and further reading