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Dudbridge Flour Mills was built in 1849. By 1873, it was owned by Samuel Marling, and operated in conjunction with the Sims family of Frigg's Mill. It later passed to Kimmins, Drew & Co., who continued milling until the late 1920s. It had its own railway siding which entered the mill above ground level on a bridge.
When the Stroud Fire Station was located on part of the Marling School playing field, in the late 1940s -1960s, it had no Drill Tower and only single storey buildings. The Fire Service used Kimmins Mill for ladder and pump drills, including hook ladders drills where the firemen ascended the four storeys by scaling the exterior of the building using a ladder hooked over the window sill above. The original cills were replaced with oak for safety.
It has since then had a variety of uses, including the storage of historic textile machinery. In 1996, it was purchased as part of the new Sainsbury's supermarket site and refurbished.
From January 2016, this website is managed by Stroud Local
History Society
Revised 2018 EMW
