Papers relating to Green's Mill, Sneinton, Nottingham, 1921-1924 and 1976

The collection consists of:

Particulars and Plan of a house, building land and windmill on Belvoir Hill off Sneinton Dale, Nottingham, to be sold at auction by Messrs Place and Kirk, F.A.I., at the Sale Rooms, Norfolk Place, Parliament Street, Nottingham, on 23 November 1921. The plan was surveyed by A.R. Calvert in 1919. Scale: 1 inch to 30 feet. 1921 (MS 812/1/1-2);

Cutting from the 'Nottinghamshire Guardian', entitled 'When Windmills Worked in Nottingham'. The article includes a photograph of Green's Mill showing the sails and balcony, which at the time of the article were dismantled. 24 August 1923 (MS 812/2);

Article cut from 'The Miller' (pp. 204, 206 and 208), entitled 'George Green, Miller and mathematician', by Samuel F. Wilson. The article includes the same photograph as in the newspaper article, and a photograph of workmen placing sheet copper on the dome of the old mill as part of a project to preserve the mill as a memorial to George Green. 5 May 1924 (MS 812/3);

Cutting from the 'Nottingham Evening Post' concerning George Green, entitled 'Forgotten Genius...' 29 March 1976 (MS 812/4).

George Green (1793-1841) was the son of a corn miller at Sneinton, Nottingham, and initially followed the same career, but he is today remembered for his original work as a mathematician. His major contribution, Green's Functions, is of continuing relevance to contemporary physicists. In 1828 he published by private subscription 'Essay on the Application of Mathematical Analysis to the Theories of Electricity and Magnetism', despite no formal scientific education. He entered Caius College, Cambridge, and was elected into a College Fellowship in 1839, but left after some six months and died in Nottingham in 1841. He had produced a number of articles but no further monographs after 1828.

The milling business was sold by George Green soon after his father's death in 1829, although he retained the property and the family home nearby. By 1870 the mill had lost its sails and was derelict. The property was inherited by Green's youngest daughter, Clara Green (1840-1919). She died intestate, and as it was believed there were no surviving family members, the property reverted to the Crown. It was bought at auction in 1921 by Oliver Watts Hind, a Nottingham businessman, who repaired the mill and erected a plaque to the memory of George Green.

The mill was gutted by fire in 1947. The George Green Memorial Fund was established in the early 1970s and raised enough money to purchase the mill and give it to Nottingham City Council. The mill was restored and opened as a science museum in 1985.

The items have been arranged into chronological order.

Accessible to all readers.

This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

Good. The plan (MS 812/1/2) has been conserved.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections

Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

The items were collected by R.B. Stringfellow, a member of the solicitors' firm which handled the 1921 sale, and a trustee of the will of Oliver Hind. They were acquired by Manuscripts and Special Collections in June 2007.

Manuscripts, Books and Research Papers associated with George Green (Reference: GG)