The Heritage Overton AGM was held on Wednesday 21st February 2024, where we shared progress with our interested audience on our current big project: Portals Heritage and Memories.
You may know that Portals Mill in Overton was built in 1922. With the closure of the Mill in 2022 Heritage Overton believed it was important to record its 100-year legacy.
Since the Spring of 2023 a small team, led by Charles Cardiff, has been working to record both the history of Portals Mill and its impact on Overton. Our research is not just through the substantial archives but also, and most importantly, through the recollections of those who worked at the Mill and were otherwise employed by Portals.
As we have researched, we have come to realize how substantial and far-ranging were the many roles Portals Mill played in the village community. At the peak of its productivity the Mill employed 1,500 people. In addition to those working in the Mill, there were those who worked for the Portals estates. All employees benefited from active social clubs and events, from training and from education, the latter which often included grants for their children’s education. There was medical support both on site and beyond. Many workers were housed by Portals and some retired workers remained in their homes rent free. The influence of Portals Mill on the fabric of the village community over 100 years cannot be underestimated.
So, this is why our plan is to capture this heritage and these memories through our research and, in due course, to publish them on the Heritage Overton website and in the form of a printed book.
And if you have memories to share, we’d love to hear from you!