Davison's Mill, Stelling Minnis
Encyclopedia
Davison's mill is a Grade I listed smock mill] in Stelling Minnis
, Kent, England
that was built in 1866. It was the last windmill working commercially in Kent when it closed in the autumn of 1970.
millwright
Thomas Holman, replacing an earlier open trestle
post mill
with common sails. Milling by wind ceased in 1925, but the mill continued to work by a Ruston & Hornsby oil engine
which had been added in 1923. In April 1935, the mill was restored to full working order. The work was financed by Miss H Laurie, as a memorial to her brother Colonel Ronald Macdonald Laurie, who had died on 21 October 1927. Miss Laurie was awarded a Windmill Certicifate by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
in 1936. One pair of sails was blown off in the early 1950s, and the mill worked afterwards with a single pair, assisted by the engine. Elham Rural District Council donated £100 towards the cost of repairs estimated at £500 in the 1950s. When Alec Davison retired in the autumn of 1970, the mill was the last in Kent working commercially by wind. After the death of Mr Davison, the mill was acquired by Kent County Council
. A restoration of the mill commenced in 2003, with the sails being taken down on 19 July and the cap removed on 20 July. The work was financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund
and Kent County Council. It was carried out by IJP Millwrights of Binfield Heath
, Berkshire
and took three months to complete.
carried on a cast iron
windshaft. The mill is winded by a fantail
. The mill drives two pairs of millstone
s underdrift. The Brake wheel is iron. This drives a cast iron
Wallower. The Great Spur Wheel is also of cast iron.
The engine is a Ruston & Hornsby "1912" hot-bulb engine, which was despatched from Holman's in Canterbury on 7 May 1923.
References for above:-
Stelling Minnis
Stelling Minnis is a village and civil parish in the Shepway District in Kent, England. The village lies to the south of Canterbury, and to the east of the B2068, Stone Street, the Roman road, which takes traffic between Lympne and Canterbury.- Windmill :...
, Kent, 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 1866. It was the last windmill working commercially in Kent when it closed in the autumn of 1970.
History
Davison's mill was built in 1866 by the CanterburyCanterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
millwright
Millwright
A millwright is a craftsman or tradesman engaged with the construction and maintenance of machinery.Early millwrights were specialist carpenters who erected machines used in agriculture, food processing and processing lumber and paper...
Thomas Holman, replacing an earlier open trestle
Trestle (mill)
The Trestle of a Post mill is the arrangement of the Main post, crosstrees and quarterbars that form the substructure of this type of windmill. It may or may not be surrounded by a roundhouse...
post mill
Post mill
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. The defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. The earliest post mills in England are thought to have...
with common sails. Milling by wind ceased in 1925, but the mill continued to work by a Ruston & Hornsby oil engine
Hot bulb engine
The hot bulb engine, or hotbulb or heavy oil engine is a type of internal combustion engine. It is an engine in which fuel is ignited by being brought into contact with a red-hot metal surface inside a bulb....
which had been added in 1923. In April 1935, the mill was restored to full working order. The work was financed by Miss H Laurie, as a memorial to her brother Colonel Ronald Macdonald Laurie, who had died on 21 October 1927. Miss Laurie was awarded a Windmill Certicifate by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings was founded by William Morris, Philip Webb and J.J.Stevenson, and other notable members of the Pre Raphaelite brotherhood, in 1877, to oppose what they saw as the insensitive renovation of ancient buildings then occurring in Victorian...
in 1936. One pair of sails was blown off in the early 1950s, and the mill worked afterwards with a single pair, assisted by the engine. Elham Rural District Council donated £100 towards the cost of repairs estimated at £500 in the 1950s. When Alec Davison retired in the autumn of 1970, the mill was the last in Kent working commercially by wind. After the death of Mr Davison, the mill was acquired by Kent County Council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...
. A restoration of the mill commenced in 2003, with the sails being taken down on 19 July and the cap removed on 20 July. The work was financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
and Kent County Council. It was carried out by IJP Millwrights of Binfield Heath
Binfield Heath
Binfield Heath is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England. It is about southwest of Henley-on-Thames and about northeast of Reading, Berkshire.Until 2003, Binfield Heath and the hamlet of Crowsley were part of the civil parish of Shiplake....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and took three months to complete.
Description
Davison's mill is a four storey smock mill with a stage at first floor level. It is built on a low brick base only 14 inches (355.6 mm) high. The mill is 43 feet (13.11 m) tall to the top of the cap. It has 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 mill is 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...
. The mill drives two 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 underdrift. The Brake wheel is iron. This drives 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...
Wallower. The Great Spur Wheel is also of cast iron.
The engine is a Ruston & Hornsby "1912" hot-bulb engine, which was despatched from Holman's in Canterbury on 7 May 1923.
Millers
- Colver (post mill)
- George Goble 1866 - 1878
- Henry William Davison 1878 -
- Alec Davison 1940 - 1970
References for above:-
External links
- Stelling Minnis Windmill and Museum - official site
- Windmill World page on the mill.