The Mill Remembered: Stories from Heritage Open Days
During Sudbury’s Heritage Open Days, visitors came to Mill Tye Gallery to explore more than the art on its walls. An information panel marked 175 years since Edward Baker purchased the Mill in 1851, inviting people to look more closely at the building and the lives connected to it.
Some of those people came through our doors over the weekend.
Glenn, who worked here when it was still a working mill, visited on Saturday. Being back in the building brought memories of the space as it once was, including a studio with a large workbench. The following day, John & Jan Paul came in. John remembered Glenn and soon they were talking about the people they had known and the work they had done here.
John described a workplace that relied on many different skills. Electrical and mechanical engineers worked alongside people maintaining the packing lines. Apprentices learned from experienced colleagues and attended college on day release. He recalled the pride people took in their tools and workspaces, right down to cleaning and putting everything away at the end of the day.
He had also brought old publications about flour milling machinery. As we looked through them, John explained how the site had developed and pointed out the building behind the gallery, known as the New Mill. He remembered its construction and took us outside to show us where part of it stood on pitch pine piles and part on foundations. I photographed him with the publications along with the building he knew so well.
Later, Charles and his father Robert Baker visited, sharing fond memories of the site and the characters who had worked here. Charles showed us a bag of dog food bearing the Edward Baker name that he had recently discovered in Tesco. It was a small, surprising reminder of the wider story that grew from this place.
Today, the sound of milling machinery has given way to conversations between artists and visitors. The building still welcomes people who care deeply about making things: painters, printmakers, ceramicists, textile artists and craftspeople. Through exhibitions, residencies, workshops and community projects, it remains a place where skills can be shared, new work can develop and people can meet.
That connection felt especially vivid during Heritage Open Days. John’s stories of apprentices learning their craft sat alongside the gallery’s commitment to nurturing artists and making creativity accessible. The pride he remembered in a well-kept workspace finds an echo in the care makers bring to their work today.
The Mill has changed, and each generation has found a different purpose for it. Yet it remains a place shaped by people, their skills and their relationships with one another. We are grateful to Glenn, John, Jan, Charles and Robert for sharing their memories and helping us see those connections more clearly.
The next time you visit Mill Tye Gallery, we hope you’ll enjoy the art, meet the people behind it and take a moment to look at the building around you. There are many stories here, and we are still learning them.
