Historic Frogmore Paper Mill in Dacorum reopens three years on from 'devastating' fire

Frogmore Paper Mill opened its doors to the public again this month three years after an arson attack forced the demolition of its original structure.

This month, over three and a half years after the attack, for which two teenage boys were convicted of committing arson, the mill is once again open.

Staff are hosting hard hat tours of the area which is home to the oldest mechanical paper mill in the world.

Visitors will be shown how to make paper at the historic site and will be given an informative tour of the building which became an operational paper back in the 18th century.

A spokesperson for the mill said hard hats are required because they still ‘have work to do’ restoring the building after the devastating blaze.

St Albans Youth Court heard in 2023 how two 13-year-olds had used a lighter to deliberately start a fire within the property in January of the prior year.

Initially, dozens of firefighters raced to the scene to extinguish the blaze and make the area safe. Despite their best efforts the mill confirmed its visitor centre had suffered major damage and other historic artifacts were beyond repair.

Following the sentencing of the teenagers Police investigator Deborah Newsham said: "This incident demonstrates the consequences of reckless behaviour and although I know the boys involved never meant to cause such devastation, they had no thought for what might happen when they started the fire and how quickly the flames would spread.

"The fire, which was battled by dozens of firefighters, destroyed precious artwork and historic documents from the famous papermill, as well as causing millions of pounds worth of damage. "

It was previously revealed that staff and volunteers had to complete round the clock repair work to save the area from complete destruction.

A fundraiser remains open to assist staff with making further repairs to the mill and a spokesperson has cautioned that it remains of great importance that the site can be fully operational again to reopen to schools and other community groups.