Building record TQ 75 NW 503 - Aylesford Newsprint Paper Mill

The paper mill was founded in 1917. By 1941 the majority of paper mills in the UK made paper from wood pulp, however, Aylesford used waste paper.
During the Second World War, paper produced by paper mills had a range of functions including in paper shell cases and disposable aircraft petrol tanks. As paper production was so important during this period, the factory at Aylesford was camoulfaged as a farm to protect it from enemy bombing, although it was still targeted and suffered some direct hits.

During a programme of historic building recording carried out in 2017, six buildings were recorded to an Enhanced Level 1 standard comprising the Medway Pumphouse, the Process Pumphouse, the Reservoir Pumphouse, The Old Offices, PM13, and the Borewell Reservoir Pumphouse. A further seven assets were recorded to a Basic Level 1 standard comprising Millhall Mill (TQ 75 NW 960), Substation 1, Westmill Drain, Old Turbine Hall/Steam Accumulator House, Bale Storage 4-12, Borewell Pumphouse, and the Railway Tracks.

The Medway Pumphouse was built during the 1920s and appears on the 1931 OS map. Despite much of the original pump machinery surviving within the building, at the time of the survey the structure and machinery had fallen into disrepair.

The Process Pumphouse and the Reservoir Pumphouse were constructed in the 1930s during the second phase of development at the site. Another structure which dated to this phase of development is the Old Turbine/Steam Accumulator House which was built in 1936 and continued to be adapted until around 1950. Bale Storage 4-12 also dates from the 1930s.
Railway tracks once ran across both sides of the paper mill. Some remnants still survived at the time of the survey. These were tentatively dated to the 1930s phase of expansion at the site.

The Old Offices were built in 1957 as part of the 1950s post-war phase of expansion at the paper mill. PM13 (the building which housed the No. 13 papermaking machines) was also constructed during the 1950s site expansion, alongside the Borewell Reservoir Pumphouse.
Substation 1 housed operational machinery which had been in use into the early 21st century. This structure was a post-war addition to the site, alongside the Westmill Drain building. (1)

<1> AECOM, 2017, Aylesford Newsprint Paper Mill, Kent, Historic Building Record (Unpublished document). SKE58055.