Black Mill, Whitstable
Encyclopedia
Black Mill, or Borstal Hill Mill is a smock mill
in Whitstable
, Kent
, England
that was built in 1815. It is now a part of a private residence at the end of Millers Court.
had to be notified, as the mill was a navigational landmark for sailors. The mill last worked circa 1905 and in 1928 was converted into a studio by the artist Laurence Irving, the grandson of Sir Henry Irving
. The mill was later converted into a motel. The converted tower still contains the major milling machinery, and externally bears stocks and a dummy fantail.
carried on a cast iron
windshaft. The Brake wheel survives. This drove a cast iron Wallower mounted on a wooden Upright Shaft. The Great Spur Wheel also survives. The mill drove three pairs of millstone
s overdrift. It was winded by a fantail
.
References for above:-
Smock mill
The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind...
in Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that was built in 1815. It is now a part of a private residence at the end of Millers Court.
History
Black Mill was built in 1815. A mill that previously stood on the site was marked on Bowen's map of 1736. The mill had been painted white when built, but was tarred in 1885, thus gaining its name of Black Mill. Trinity HouseTrinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
had to be notified, as the mill was a navigational landmark for sailors. The mill last worked circa 1905 and in 1928 was converted into a studio by the artist Laurence Irving, the grandson of Sir Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
. The mill was later converted into a motel. The converted tower still contains the major milling machinery, and externally bears stocks and a dummy fantail.
Description
Black mill is a four storey smock mill on a single storey brick base. There was a stage at first floor level. It had four patent sailsWindmill sail
Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails.-Jib sails:...
carried on a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
windshaft. The Brake wheel survives. This drove a cast iron Wallower mounted on a wooden Upright Shaft. The Great Spur Wheel also survives. The mill drove three pairs of millstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
s overdrift. It was winded by a fantail
Windmill fantail
A Fantail is a small windmill mounted at right angles to the sails, at the rear of the windmill, and which turns the cap automatically to bring it into the wind. The fantail was patented in 1745 by Edmund Lee, a blacksmith working at Brockmill Forge near Wigan, England, and perfected on mills...
.
Millers
- Lawes & Carr 1839 - 1845
- William Carr 1845
- Jonathan Rye
- Henry Somerford 1860 - 1866
- James Callingham 1866 -
- Callingham Bros. - 1899
- George & William Dawking 1899 - 1905
References for above:-
External links
- Windmill World page on the mill.