PAPER
Bristol's Paper Heritage
Paper has been made at the Wookey Hole Paper Mill in Somerset since 1610. Historically, rags from Bristol were sorted
and used by the mill to make paper. Paper made from cotton lasts much longer than paper produced from wood pulp and the Wookey Hole Paper Mill offers a guarantee that their paper will last for 500 years. For this reason, paper from the Wookey Hole Paper Mill is used for important Royal and state documents. Paper p
roduction using wood pulp only began in the 19th century.
In the 1850s Mr. Robinson established his paper bags and printing factory in Bedminster. The building is now used by Cameron Hot Air Balloons.
What we did 
Young people from the E2E project visited the paper mill at Wookey Hole to see paper production. The Wookey Hole Paper Mill is the only handmade paper factory in Britain; production practices at 
the mill have changed little in over 300 years and they still use heavy Victorian machines. The young people were able to make a sheet of paper at the mill.
Later, back at base, we made our own sheets of paper by recycling used paper. The sheets were dyed and decorated.
Resources
- Wookey Hole, Somerset, Discounted rate for student / trainees booking in advance Tel 01749 672243 or www.wookey.co.uk .
- There is a good history of paper making on the site. Making Paper By hand A history of papermaking at Wookey hole by John Sweetman 1982.
To make your own paper 