THE TRAIL'S PLAN IN APSLEY
The Paper Trail's Plan
The Paper Trail Visitor Centre
VISITS start at Apsley Mills where car parking, coach drop-off point and train station are at hand. This brief guide follows the proposed route of a planned visit..
ARTISTS IMPRESSION OF THE CENTRE |
On arrival
Enhanced by the display of large-scale paper art, the main reception area will present previews of the experience ahead. This will generate a sense of expectation amongst those visitors making a pre-determined visit and also generate impulse visits from the broad range of educational, business and retail visitors to the Apsley site.
Having purchased a ticket, visitors will board a narrow boat and enjoy the short journey along the Grand Union Canal and River Gade to the Frogmore Mill.
Upon boarding, groups of visitors will be met by a guide who will give a short introduction to The Paper Trail, highlighting some of the main attractions that they are about to see, and how to return to Apsley.
The guide will then describe the role of the Grand Union Canal and River Gade in the long history of milling and papermaking.
Visitors will start to feel a sense of history surrounding the area as they round the last bend in the River Gade to arrive at Frogmore Mill.
For those preferring to walk between the two sites, the provision of a canal/riverside footpath is also planned.
Arrival at Frogmore Mill
Disembarking from the narrow boat, visitors will enter the Frogmore Mill where they will learn about the history of paper and print in a working paper mill and print works.
The River Gade runs through the mill building creating an environment steeped in history and atmosphere. The portrayal of living heritage within a working museum will create a unique and entertaining learning environment.
The reception area will include customer service facilities including toilets and a snack kiosk offering al fresco eating and drinking on the riverbank during the summer.
The large industrial sheds housing the reception and customer service facilities, will again offer the opportunity to display paper-related decorative arts including decoupage, posters, mobiles and sculpture, before visitors set off along the trail through the history of paper-making and printing.
History of Papermaking
The first exhibit, The History of Papermaking, takes visitors on a fascinating journey through the role of paper in history. Without paper, civilisation as we know it would not exist. This area will highlight the effects of the industry both locally and in an international context.
Visitors will be surprised to find out how people communicated before paper was invented. Exhibits show the many examples of attempts made to communicate using pottery, stone and later parchment.
The invention of paper in China will form a key focus of this area, and visitors will discover its profound implications upon economic, social, and cultural history through a variety of interactive displays.
In addition to paper’s journey into Europe, the subsequent breakthrough of mass communication and the role of Apsley will be a focal point. The essential ingredients of paper are discussed and the ebb and flow through the years of different forms of cellulose fibre. Ingredients ranging from rags to wood, from bamboo to cotton are shown.
The historic journey then continues by taking visitors into the heart of the industrial revolution, when paper moved from a cottage industry to a large-scale, mechanised process.
Throughout this section the images, dramatic lighting and inspirational soundtrack will excite the visitors whilst they come to understand paper’s colourful and important past.
The word paper derives its name from papyrus, used as a writing material by the Egyptians. A range of plants suitable for making paper will be included in the landscaping on the Frogmore site.
Hand-made paper
After learning of the significance of paper, visitors will have the opportunity to make paper by hand. Hand made paper will be produced using original equipment and from recycled pulp produced using the power of water wheels.
Paper making process
In guided groups, visitors will then enter the working mill area, where they will see the manufacture of paper on a 19th century Fourdrinier machine.
This fully operational paper machine is a vital part of the process of understanding modern papermaking, with visitors receiving a unique view of the papermaking process, from start to finish.
The Frogmore Mill is a waste paper recycling mill and visitors will learn of the environmental and commercial benefits of recycling waste materials.
The tour will explain why not all paper can be made with 100% recycled material, the importance of the collection of waste paper, and what visitors could do to help the process. They may even see their own waste paper being recycled into new products.
Visitors will see each stage of the recycling process including the arrival of the waste paper, the pulping process, the introduction of other materials such as dyes or additives, how water is added and then removed, how watermarks are imprinted and the rolling and drying process that delivers the final product.
Paper and pulp laboratories
As visitors walk through the paper mill they will also pass working paper and pulp laboratories, operated by Cross and Bevan, an independent business providing testing and development services for the paper industry.
Cross and Bevan invented viscose (rayon) and cellophane, both wood-pulp based products, and the laboratories will allow visitors to learn more about the science and technology that lies behind the industrial process that they are viewing.
Working print museum
On exiting the area of the mill dedicated to paper making, visitors will enter a working print museum to learn more about how paper is used and finished. The print museum will be operated by Forme London a commercial print company specialising in bespoke printing on historic printing presses. Their customers include the Houses of Parliament and Liberty’s.
Before entering into the working print shop, visitors will pass through an area where historic presses will be displayed. A series of interactive activities will be integrated into the displays, allowing visitors to better understand how the presses worked and the important technological advances that led up to the process used by Forme London.
Mill Manager’s House Museum
On leaving the working Print Museum, visitors will exit the mill building and pass along a short riverside walk before entering the Mill Manager’s House.
Within this listed building, the local story will be told including the story of the Fourdrinier brothers and of John Dickinson, one of the early success stories of industrialised paper making. The house will be refurbished to look as it did in the early nineteenth century. Internally the rooms will be fitted out to reflect a particular period and reveal as much as possible of the life and times of the manager and his family.
Paper and power
On exiting the Mill Manager’s House, visitors will again view the water wheels and will enter an exhibition on how the river provided the energy used in the paper making process and why the paper industry developed in Hertfordshire and along the River Gade in particular. The exhibition will also explain how renewable energy sources are now powering much of The Paper Trail.
The National Museum of Print and Paper Communication
A number of organisations with important collections relating to advertising, publishing, printing, writing, postal services and paper-making have requested that their collections be displayed at The Paper Trail. Such organisations have recognised that as single entities they would not be major crowd-pullers, but as part of the more forward looking exhibitions and industrial tours developed by The Paper Trail and its industry partners, they can offer the public a critical mass of attractions of broad market appeal.
Combined these various collections produce a totally unique museum of print and paper media, the first means of mass communication. Visitors will have the opportunity to view social history over the last 300 years through the trail left by books, letters, newspapers, magazines, labels, games, packaging and much more.
The museum will include items from the collections of The Science Museum, National Paper Museum, National Writing Museum, Robert Opie Collection, Dacorum Heritage Trust and Cross and Bevan Museum. Other collections, such as the History of Advertising Trust, may also be included, providing the ability to endlessly vary the display.
Paper art
The final section of the Frogmore visit will relate to paper art. Paper gives great pleasure to many as a medium for art and craft. This section will demonstrate what can be achieved and encourage visitors to participate. Interactive displays and activities relating to print making, bookbinding, paper sculpture, etc will ensure a memorable finale to a visit to Frogmore Mill and will ensure that many visitors will want to return.
Science and Exploration Centre - Paper present and future
After returning via narrow boat to Apsley, visitors will be able to find out about the diverse uses of print and paper and possible future uses in a series of interactive and entertaining exhibitions in a Science and Exploration Centre.
A spectacular audio-visual experience showing the way paper revolutionises our lives today and possible future uses for print and paper will change visitor perceptions about this medium of communication.
The biggest feature of the Science and Exploration Centre is the presentation of how paper communication will meet society’s future needs in terms of relevance, value, and sustainability. Every link in the paper communication supply chain, from forestry to postal services and recycling, will be featured.
The adaptability and flexibility of paper will be demonstrated by comparing the products of today with possible future uses and processes such as the integration of print, paper and electronics to produce intelligent print.
It is here that environmental, technology, social and economic issues will be tackled showing that print and paper communications has the potential to be genuinely sustainable.
The design and content of the Paper Science and Exploration Centre will be shaped and influenced by the new partners still to be recruited. Current plans envisage 3 distinct galleries that will appeal to the widest possible audience. These comprise the following:
Fun with paper - a house constructed entirely from recycled paper and launched through a national design competition will be home to a variety of interactive games and experiences such as:
* Make a paper kite and fly it in a wind machine powered by sustainable energy sources.
* Make a magic paper bomb that if thrown at a screen will reveal an image when wet.
* Find your way through a paper maze.
* Draw your own cartoon.
* Turn an old newspaper into a pencil.
* A soft play activity area.
Living with paper - the role of paper in our lives today and tomorrow; a series of exhibitions and interactives presenting the role paper plays and will continue to play in our lives, using the latest presentation technologies. Visitors will be able to:
* Spend a million pounds.
* Try out paper fashion and see themselves on the virtual reality catwalk.
* Design paper furniture and furnishings.
* Sponsor a tree and see it grow via a webcam.
* Devise a more sustainable future.
Communicating with paper - will cover a series of exhibitions and interactives presenting the role of paper as a communications medium including:
* Design and print the front page of a magazine or newspaper.
* Look back 25, 50 or 100 years - locally and nationally, through an interactive database of magazines and newspapers.
* Walk into virtual posters and record sleeves.
* Print a stamp with your own picture on it.
* Experiment with intelligent print.
* Learn about how paper is driving the internet revolution.
* Send an encoded email that you or your friends can print off at home.
The grand finale of the Science and Exploration Centre will be a celebration of paper. Utilising audio-visual and dark ride technologies; visitors will ride along a virtual Wall Street and experience a ticker-tape parade.
Industry Showcase and Innovations Pavilion
The Industry Showcase and Innovations Pavilion will comprise a free entry attraction linking the Science and Exploration Centre to the Business & Training Centre. All visitors to Apsley will be able to find out about leading-edge products related to the paper, print, publishing and communications industries, as well as gain an insight into the research and development programmes of some of the leading companies in these sectors in a Technology and Innovations Pavilion. A hands-on multi-media centre will provide work and play stations for visitors to explore the internet, produce their own documents and create prints of their own work as souvenirs. This feature will demonstrate how paper complements electronic communication.
Special Events and Temporary Exhibitions
A flexible space, also used for trade exhibitions and conferences, will provide accommodation for special exhibitions and events that will create reasons to re-visit The Paper Trail. These events may include retail craft fairs, possibly linked to special dates such as Valentine’s Day, Easter or Christmas. Other events might focus on paper art, on cartoons, or on collections of historic below-the-line advertising media.
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