Shiremark Mill, Capel
Encyclopedia
Shiremark Mill, also known as Kingsfold Mill or Capel Mill was a listed Smock mill
at Capel, Surrey
, England
which was burnt down in 1972.
post mill
which had stood at Clark's Green (TQ 176 398 51.145°N 0.320°W). It was so named because it stood close to the border with Sussex
, and although often thought of as a Sussex mill, actually stood just within Surrey by some 20 yards (18.3 m).
The mill was offered for sale in 1777, described as "new-built" and in 1802 was acquired by the Stone family, who were to work it until 1919. In 1886, the mill was tailwinded and the cap and sails
were blown off. Messrs Grist and Steele, the Horsham
millwright
s replaced them that year. The mill worked by wind until 1919, when it was stopped on account of a defective curb.
Shiremark Mill slowly became derelict, an inspection by Rex Wailes
in 1933 resulted in an estimated repair cost of £100. The cap boarding was repaired but the mill was again left to deteriorate. In 1950, Capel Parish Council approached the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
and the owner of the mill with a view to securing the mill's preservation. The mill had been listed as an antiquity by Surrey County Council
by 1951. In 1952, a detailed inspection of the mill found that the sills and lower part of the cant posts were rotten. Thompson's, the Alford
millwrights estimated that the mill would cose £2,500 to restore. The main beams of the first floor were supported by brick piers, but no other work was done. Although the mill had all four sails in 1928, the sails fell off one by one, with the last falling in 1956. Photographs show that the cap was intact in August 1958, but by May 1966 the roof had gone, exposing the brake wheel to the weather.
Shiremark Mill was a three storey smock mill on a single storey base. There was no stage, earth having been thrown up against the base to form a mill mound. It last worked with four double Patent sails carried on a cast iron
windshaft. The cap was winded by a hand wheel.
sills of 10 inches (254 mm) by 6 inches (152 mm) in section. The eight oak cant posts were 10 inches (254 mm) were 9 inches (229 mm) square and 21 feet (6.4 m) long, and carried a circular oak curb of 14 feet (4.27 m) diameter at the top. There were two sets of 6 inches (152 mm) square oak transoms at appropriate heights which carried the joists for the internal floors. Each of the twenty-four frames was infilled with a vertical oak post 5 inches (127 mm) square and two diagonal struts 5 inches (127 mm) by 3½ inches (89mm) in section. On the bottom floor of the smock there were two doors on opposite sides to enable access whatever direction the sails were facing.
Internally, the bottom floor of the smock was at two levels, with a 4 feet (1.22 m) height difference. The main beams were 23 feet (7.01 m) long and 12 inches (305 mm) square on 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) centres. These formed the base of the Hurst Frame, a feature more commonly found in watermill
s than windmills. Shiremark mill is the only recorded windmill with a hurst frame south of the River Thames
. A surviving windmill with a hurst frame is Chesterton Mill
, Warwickshire
.
The cap was winded by a hand wheel of 8 feet (2.44 m) diameter housed just inside the rear of the cap. The worm wheel that engaged with the cogs set into the top of the tower was latterly a cast iron one, replacing an earlier wooden one. It was necessary to pull about a ¼ mile (400m) of chain to turn the mill through 180 degrees.
The cast iron windshaft is 16 feet (4.88 m) long overall, with a canister at the outer end to carry the stocks. It was 12 inches (304.8 mm) diameter at the neck bearing, 8½ inches (210mm) square at the boss for the brake wheel and 6 inches (152.4 mm) diameter at the tail, the tail bearing itself being 4 inches (101.6 mm) diameter. The windshaft carried a 9 feet (2.74 m) diameter clasp arm Brake wheel, which had been converted from compass arm construction, the original windshaft having been of wood. The brake wheel had 75 cogs. The windshaft from Shiremark Mill was used in the restoration of Ripple Mill
, Ringwould
, Kent
in 1994.
Upright Shaft was 21 feet (6.4 m) long It carried a cast iron Wallower 3 feet (914.4 mm) diameter Wallower, cast in halves and having 26 teeth. It replaced an earlier wooden wheel.The underside of the wallower had a friction ring which drove the sack hoist. At the foot of the Upright Shaft, a wooden clasp arm Great Spur Wheel of 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) diameter with 70 cogs was carried. This drove the two pairs of millstone
s underdrift. The French Burr stones were driven by a stone nut with 20 cogs, and the Peak stones were driven by a stone nut with 18 cogs. Each pair of millstones was controlled by its own governor, missing at the time of the survey in 1952.
References for above:-
mentions Shiremark Mill in the preface to The Four Men.
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...
at Capel, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part 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...
which was burnt down in 1972.
History
Shiremark Mill was built in 1774, incorporating some material from a demolished open trestleTrestle (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...
which had stood at Clark's Green (TQ 176 398 51.145°N 0.320°W). It was so named because it stood close to the border with Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and although often thought of as a Sussex mill, actually stood just within Surrey by some 20 yards (18.3 m).
The mill was offered for sale in 1777, described as "new-built" and in 1802 was acquired by the Stone family, who were to work it until 1919. In 1886, the mill was tailwinded and the cap and sails
Windmill sail
Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails.-Jib sails:...
were blown off. Messrs Grist and Steele, the Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
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...
s replaced them that year. The mill worked by wind until 1919, when it was stopped on account of a defective curb.
Shiremark Mill slowly became derelict, an inspection by Rex Wailes
Rex Wailes
Rex Wailes OBE, FSA, F I Mech E was an English engineer and historian who published widely on aspects of engineering history and industrial archaeology, particularly on windmills and watermills....
in 1933 resulted in an estimated repair cost of £100. The cap boarding was repaired but the mill was again left to deteriorate. In 1950, Capel Parish Council approached 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...
and the owner of the mill with a view to securing the mill's preservation. The mill had been listed as an antiquity by Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 80 elected councillors.The council is controlled by the Conservative party.The leader of the council is David Hodge....
by 1951. In 1952, a detailed inspection of the mill found that the sills and lower part of the cant posts were rotten. Thompson's, the Alford
Alford, Lincolnshire
- Notable residents :* Captain John Smith who lived in nearby Willoughby* Anne Hutchinson, pioneer settler and religious reformer in the United States* Thomas Paine, who was an excise officer in the town....
millwrights estimated that the mill would cose £2,500 to restore. The main beams of the first floor were supported by brick piers, but no other work was done. Although the mill had all four sails in 1928, the sails fell off one by one, with the last falling in 1956. Photographs show that the cap was intact in August 1958, but by May 1966 the roof had gone, exposing the brake wheel to the weather.
Description
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 cap was winded by a hand wheel.
Base
The single storey octagonal brick base was 8 in 6 in (2.59 m) from floor level to the top of the brickwork internally. Externally it was 5 feet (1.52 m) from ground level to the top of the brickwork, earth having been embanked against the base to allow the sails to be reached for reefing, the mill having originally been built with Common sails. The brickwork tapered in thickness, being 14 inches (356 mm) thick at the top. It was 24 feet (7.32 m) across the flats. By 2006 the base was the only remaining part of the mill, although largely hidden by dense undergrowth.Smock
The three storey smock tower rested on oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
sills of 10 inches (254 mm) by 6 inches (152 mm) in section. The eight oak cant posts were 10 inches (254 mm) were 9 inches (229 mm) square and 21 feet (6.4 m) long, and carried a circular oak curb of 14 feet (4.27 m) diameter at the top. There were two sets of 6 inches (152 mm) square oak transoms at appropriate heights which carried the joists for the internal floors. Each of the twenty-four frames was infilled with a vertical oak post 5 inches (127 mm) square and two diagonal struts 5 inches (127 mm) by 3½ inches (89mm) in section. On the bottom floor of the smock there were two doors on opposite sides to enable access whatever direction the sails were facing.
Internally, the bottom floor of the smock was at two levels, with a 4 feet (1.22 m) height difference. The main beams were 23 feet (7.01 m) long and 12 inches (305 mm) square on 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) centres. These formed the base of the Hurst Frame, a feature more commonly found in watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
s than windmills. Shiremark mill is the only recorded windmill with a hurst frame south of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. A surviving windmill with a hurst frame is Chesterton Mill
Chesterton Windmill
Chesterton Windmill is a 17th century cylindric stone tower windmill with an arched base, located outside the village of Chesterton, Warwickshire...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
.
Cap
The cap was 17 feet (5.18 m) by 14 feet (4.27 m) in plan, and 10 in 6 in (3.2 m) in height above the curb. The mill was 40 feet (12.19 m) high from the ground floor to the cap ridge, thus 36 in 6 in (11.13 m) from ground level to roof externally. The main cap frame consisted of two sheers, each 12 inches (305 mm) square in section and 16 feet (4.88 m), set 10 feet (3.05 m) apart. The main cross members were the breast beam, the sprattle beam and the tail beam, in order from head to tail. The cross members extended each side of the sheers to form a base for the nine pairs of roof rafters. There was no ridge board to the roof.The cap was winded by a hand wheel of 8 feet (2.44 m) diameter housed just inside the rear of the cap. The worm wheel that engaged with the cogs set into the top of the tower was latterly a cast iron one, replacing an earlier wooden one. It was necessary to pull about a ¼ mile (400m) of chain to turn the mill through 180 degrees.
Sails and windshaft
The mill was built with four Common sails. After it was tailwinded in 1886, a new cap, windshaft and four double Patent sails were fitted. The sails were 6 in 10 in (2.08 m) wide and spanned 60 feet (18.29 m). Each pair of sails was carried on a stock 39 feet (11.89 m) long and of 14 inches (355.6 mm) by 12 inches (304.8 mm) section at the canister, tapering to 6 inches (152.4 mm) square at the tips. Each stock was strengthened by a pair of clamps, 10 feet (3.05 m) long and 8 inches (203.2 mm) by 5 inches (127 mm) in section.The cast iron windshaft is 16 feet (4.88 m) long overall, with a canister at the outer end to carry the stocks. It was 12 inches (304.8 mm) diameter at the neck bearing, 8½ inches (210mm) square at the boss for the brake wheel and 6 inches (152.4 mm) diameter at the tail, the tail bearing itself being 4 inches (101.6 mm) diameter. The windshaft carried a 9 feet (2.74 m) diameter clasp arm Brake wheel, which had been converted from compass arm construction, the original windshaft having been of wood. The brake wheel had 75 cogs. The windshaft from Shiremark Mill was used in the restoration of Ripple Mill
Ripple Mill, Ringwould
Ripple Windmill is a Grade II listed Smock mill in Ringwould, Kent, England that was built in Drellingore and moved to Ringwould in the early nineteenth century...
, Ringwould
Ringwould
Ringwould is a village near Dover in Kent, England. Ripple Windmill, which is being restored, lies within the parish....
, 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...
in 1994.
Machinery
The elmElm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
Upright Shaft was 21 feet (6.4 m) long It carried a cast iron Wallower 3 feet (914.4 mm) diameter Wallower, cast in halves and having 26 teeth. It replaced an earlier wooden wheel.The underside of the wallower had a friction ring which drove the sack hoist. At the foot of the Upright Shaft, a wooden clasp arm Great Spur Wheel of 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) diameter with 70 cogs was carried. This drove the 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 French Burr stones were driven by a stone nut with 20 cogs, and the Peak stones were driven by a stone nut with 18 cogs. Each pair of millstones was controlled by its own governor, missing at the time of the survey in 1952.
Millers
- David Southow 1774 - 1777
- John Stone 1802 -
- Thomas Stone
- G Stone
- Eliza Stone
- John Chantler c1875
- William Rapley 1886
- George Stone - 1919
References for above:-
Culture and literature
Hilaire BellocHilaire Belloc
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
mentions Shiremark Mill in the preface to The Four Men.
External links
- Windmill World webpage on Shiremark mill.