Iranzu Baker

TALES FROM THE MILL: ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Tales from The Mill was funded by National Lottery Awards for All to document and celebrate the community centre and people involved with it as part of its 10th-anniversary celebrations. 

The project collected, explored, created, and celebrated shared stories related to how The Mill started and its importance in the local community. An exhibition took place at the end of the project along with a celebratory event and publication. Local artist Lucy Harrison was the Project Manager - she knows the centre well from living locally and being involved in local creative and community projects in Walthamstow.

I worked with Lucy as a volunteer. I had oral history training and later interviewed and gathered stories through the words of people who were involved in the last decade and before. I also helped with the promotion of the exhibition by creating weekly social media posts using interview quotes and archival imagery sourced by volunteers during 2021 - some examples are below.

The Mill’s Decade 

Iranzu Baker and Zoe Dowsett explore the past, present and future of Walthamstow’s vibrant community centre.

In September 2011, the former St James Street Library building became The Mill - following a ‘Save Our Library’ campaign ran by local residents, with the help from Nesta’s Neighbourhood Challenge grant.

Since then, the centre has let the community choose what they want to make happen. The Mill provides space, resources and support for local people to run groups, events and activities, to give something back.

Alison Griffin - one of the St James Street Library campaigners, now a trustee of The Mill - has seen first-hand how the centre has brought Walthamstow together over the last decade.

“There’s so much incredible work that goes on day-in, day-out at The Mill,” she explains. “The events that stand out the most include hosting an Olympic torch breakfast, when it touched down in Walthamstow [during London 2012], as well as signing the long-term lease for the building with the Waltham Forest Council”

Mumtaz Ahmed, one of The Mill’s long-standing volunteers first visited centre when it opened in 2011, and started volunteering a couple of years later.

“I knew straight away that I wanted to get involved,” she shares. “The Mill makes sure that everyone who visits feels welcomed – it’s been really inspiring for me.”

To celebrate the decade, The Mill is hosting a tenth birthday party on Sunday, 19th September at its Coppermill Lane (E17 7HA) address. Everyone’s invited to enjoy an afternoon of dancing, arts workshops and performances from locals. In the run-up to the party, The Mill is also running arts classes with children, who will then showcase their creations at the anniversary celebration.

Victoria Bureyko, who is one of many organisers, encourages everyone to get involved. “We’ve got loads of events happening, including birthday card-making workshops, a grow-your-own-idea scheme, where we will help you run your own community project. “Very excitingly, we’re launching our first oral history project, where volunteers will be trained up to gather stories from inspiring Walthamstow residents.”

Wondering what a second decade of The Mill might look like? Chair of trustees Ingrid Abreu Scherer says it’s all about being a consistent presence. “The Covid-19 pandemic hit our community hard, and we’ll be continuing our mission to reach people who feel lonely, or isolated, and to support ideas that can bring people together again.”

Centre Manager Natasha McFadzean says new upgraded facilities could be on the cards, too. “One of our focuses is to invest in improving the building and facilities through our Build The Mill project. Although The Mill is a fantastic space, it wasn’t originally designed for how it’s currently being used, and for the many ideas that people have for activities. Some of the groundwork has already been done… [but] it’s a huge undertaking. The project will require a big effort in fundraising, community engagement and refurbishing the space, but when the project is complete, we’ll have a sustainable space that will be there for the community for decades to come.”

To find out more about The Mill and the 10th anniversary celebrations, visit https://themille17.org/events/ or email info@themille17.org