Albion In Flames
Albion in Flames was a specially commissioned play, supported by Southwark Council’s Blackfriars Stories initiative. The play was written by Linda Wilkinson and based on my research and set design. The play was performed at the Union Theatre as part of the Totally Thames Festival (2019). Albion in Flames is based on the true story of the world’s first steam powered flour mill which today would have been between Blackfriars Road bridge and Blackfriars railway station on the south bank of the Thames. The main correspondents in the play were poet William Blake, writer Samuel Johnson and socialite Mrs Hester Thrale.
The Albion Mill opened in 1786 to great acclaim and quickly became the talk of London and beyond. The mill was able to manufacture flour 24/7. However, many traditional millers were soon forced out of business by this leviathan symbol of the industrial revolution in London. However, just five years later, the mill caught fire and burnt down in mysterious circumstances, prompting critic William Blake to opine “that dark satanic mill”.
The play’s central character was Mrs Hester Thrale, one of London’s leading socialites of the late 18th century. She bore first-hand witness to this turmoil. Seen through her eyes, the play explores the tensions between technological progress, epitomised by the rise and fall of the Albion Mill, and the challenges faced by protagonists in the name of ‘progress’.
