Ah, Temple Mills, what a fascinating place! This district is located right on the border of the London boroughs of Newham and Waltham Forest, with a little piece also in Hackney. Now, back in the day, Temple Mills was home to a marshalling yard and wagon works owned by the Great Eastern Railway. Can you imagine all the hustle and bustle of trains and wagons rolling around?
But, did you know that Temple Mills has a medieval history too? Back then, Hackney was mostly rural, with lots of land owned by Sir Thomas Mead. Agriculture was a big deal, so they grew crops like beans, wheat, oats, and barley. And you can't have crops without milling the grains, right? That's where the mills came in. Temple Mills got its name from the water mills that belonged to the Knights Templar, those famous warrior monks. These mills were used to grind corn from their extensive lands in Homerton and the Marshes. Talk about some serious medieval milling action!
Now, let's fast forward a bit. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Templar mills had a change in career. They were used for all sorts of industrial purposes like grinding rapeseed for oil, processing leather, making brass kettles, twisting yarn, and even manufacturing sheet lead. But unfortunately, tragedy struck in 1690. One night before Easter, a Huguenot refugee named Peter Pain (and yes, that's his real name) accidentally blew up two of the mills along with three stone houses and a whole lot of gunpowder. Yikes! It was quite the explosion, and Peter, his family, and a French minister sadly lost their lives.
Temple Mills has seen its fair share of history, you know. In 1972, there was a strike and picket at the Chobham Farm meat cold storage warehouse, which is located here. This led to the arrest and imprisonment of five trade unionists known as the Pentonville Five. The whole thing became a big deal across the country, causing quite a political crisis.
Oh, and I mustn't forget to mention that Temple Mills can get quite soggy at times. Being in the Lower Lea Valley, flooding is not uncommon around here. So, you might want to pack your rain boots, just in case!
Now, unfortunately, the wagon works at Temple Mills closed its doors in 1983. But back in its prime, it was a bustling place. Can you believe that they employed 800 men in 1921? They were churning out 10 new wagons and repairing 500 wagons every single week. Talk about productivity! They even produced steel frames for carriages, which were then sent off to the works at Stratford to be completed. It was a well-oiled machine, I tell you!
And that's not all. In the 1960s, Temple Mills was responsible for designing some early Freightliner Group and car-carrying wagons. They were really making their mark on the railway world. But as with many things, times changed, and by 1983, the works closed its doors for good. It's a shame, really. But hey, at least we can still appreciate the history and imagine all the hustle and bustle that used to happen around here.
Alright, my traveling friend, shall we move on to our next stop? There's always something exciting waiting for us on this tour!
