Union Mill, Cranbrook
Encyclopedia
Union Mill is a Grade I listed smock mill in Cranbrook
, Kent
, England
which has been restored to working order. It is the tallest smock mill in the United Kingdom.
James Humphrey for Mary Dobell and was initially worked by her son Henry. Mrs Dobell was declared bankrupt in 1819 and the mill was taken over by a union of her creditors, and thus gained its name. The mill was sold to John and George Russell in 1832, remaining in the Russell family for five generations until it was purchased by Kent County Council
in 1957 after the retirement of the last miller.
Restoration commenced on 18 June 1958 and was completed in 1960, costing a total of £6,000. Rex Wailes
presided over the official reopening of the mill. In 1994 the fantail was blown off during a storm, damaging the sails as it fell and landing on a parked car. In November 2010, the mill was repainted by a team from WallWalkers, who abseiled
down the mill to access the smock, as an alternative to using scaffolding
to surround the mill whilst the work was undertaken.
millwright, fitted a cast iron
windshaft, and patent sails, which span 68 feet (20.73 m). The internal wooden machinery was also replaced with cast iron. George Warren, the Hawkhurst
millwright fitted a fantail a few years later, giving the mill its current appearance. A 10 hp steam powered beam engine
by Middleton of Southwark
, Surrey
, was added in 1863, along with an extra pair of millstones from a steam mill in Smarden
. In 1880, the wooden stage was replaced with a narrower one of iron, as the wide one was not needed with patent sails. This work was carried out by Warren. The beam engine was replaced in 1890 by a rotary steam engine made by Clarke's of Ashford
. This was unsatisfactory and was replaced with a Fowler
horizontal steam engine after a year or two. This engine was replaced by a suction gas engine in 1919. Second hand sails from Sarre Windmill
were fitted in 1920. In the 1920s, a pair of sails was bought from Beacon Mill
, Benenden
for re-erection on the mill, but they proved not to be suitable. A pair of 4 feet (1.22 m) diameter millstones from Beacon Mill was installed in the mill about this time. The mill also had a pair of 4 in 4 in (1.32 m) diameter French Burr millstones and a pair of 4 in 6 in (1.37 m) Peak millstones. The mill worked for a few years longer powered by a gas engine, but had ceased milling by the early 1930s, but milling was restarted again. The gas engine was replaced by an electric motor in 1954.
References for above:-
John Russell (9 February 1888 - 18 June 1958), was awarded the very first SPAB
certificate in February 1935 for his "zeal in the maintenance" of his mill.
The four patent sails are now carried traditional wooden stocks. When the mill was restored in the 1950s, the Dutch millwright Christiaan Bremer of Adorp
was employed, and he made the stocks in the Dutch style. Although these stocks served the mill for over forty years, the did not represent Kentish practice and were not in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
covering mill restoration and repair. The stocks pass through the canister on the cast-iron windshaft, and this carries the brake wheel. The brake wheel drives the wallower, at the top of the upright shaft, and a sack hoist. At the bottom of the upright shaft is the great spur wheel, which drove three pairs of millstone
s, of which two remain. These are driven overdrift. A crown wheel drove auxiliary machinery.
Cranbrook, Kent
Cranbrook is a small town in Kent in South East England which was granted a charter in 1290 by Archbishop Peckham, allowing it to hold a market in the High Street. Located on the Maidstone to Hastings road, it is five miles north of Hawkhurst. The smaller settlements of Swattenden, Colliers...
, 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...
which has been restored to working order. It is the tallest smock mill in the United Kingdom.
History
Union Mill was built in 1814 by Cranbrook millwrightMillwright
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...
James Humphrey for Mary Dobell and was initially worked by her son Henry. Mrs Dobell was declared bankrupt in 1819 and the mill was taken over by a union of her creditors, and thus gained its name. The mill was sold to John and George Russell in 1832, remaining in the Russell family for five generations until it was purchased 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...
in 1957 after the retirement of the last miller.
Restoration commenced on 18 June 1958 and was completed in 1960, costing a total of £6,000. 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....
presided over the official reopening of the mill. In 1994 the fantail was blown off during a storm, damaging the sails as it fell and landing on a parked car. In November 2010, the mill was repainted by a team from WallWalkers, who abseiled
Abseiling
Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...
down the mill to access the smock, as an alternative to using scaffolding
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. It is usually a modular system of metal pipes or tubes, although it can be from other materials...
to surround the mill whilst the work was undertaken.
Description
The mill is seven storeys tall, with a three storey smock on a four storey brick base, which consist of basement, ground, first and second floors. It cost £3,500 to build in 1814. The overall height to the cap roof is 72 feet (21.95 m). The mill was originally built with Common sails and a wooden windshaft, with a wide stage. In 1840, Samuel Medhurst, the LewesLewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
millwright, fitted 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, and patent sails, which span 68 feet (20.73 m). The internal wooden machinery was also replaced with cast iron. George Warren, the Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. The parish lies to the south-east of Tunbridge Wells. Hawkhurst itself is virtually two villages...
millwright fitted a fantail a few years later, giving the mill its current appearance. A 10 hp steam powered beam engine
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
by Middleton of Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, 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...
, was added in 1863, along with an extra pair of millstones from a steam mill in Smarden
Smarden
Smarden is a civil parish and village, west of Ashford in Kent, South East England.The village has The Church of St. Michael which because of its high scissor beam roof is sometimes known as "The Barn of Kent"....
. In 1880, the wooden stage was replaced with a narrower one of iron, as the wide one was not needed with patent sails. This work was carried out by Warren. The beam engine was replaced in 1890 by a rotary steam engine made by Clarke's of Ashford
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
. This was unsatisfactory and was replaced with a Fowler
John Fowler & Co.
thumb|right|John Fowler & Co. [[steam roller]] of 1923John Fowler & Co Engineers of Leathley Road, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England produced traction engines and ploughing implements and equipment, as well as railway equipment. Fowler also produced the Track Marshall tractor which was a...
horizontal steam engine after a year or two. This engine was replaced by a suction gas engine in 1919. Second hand sails from Sarre Windmill
Sarre Windmill
Sarre Windmill is a Grade II listed smock mill in Sarre, Kent, England that was built in 1820, and is now a commercially working windmill that has been restored and is open to the public.-History:...
were fitted in 1920. In the 1920s, a pair of sails was bought from Beacon Mill
Beacon Mill, Benenden
Beacon Mill is a Grade II listedsmock mill in Benenden, Kent, England which is in need of restoration. The mill has been out of use since 1923 and is privately owned.-History:...
, Benenden
Benenden
Benenden is a village and civil parish in the Tunbridge Wells District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald six miles to the west of Tenterden...
for re-erection on the mill, but they proved not to be suitable. A pair of 4 feet (1.22 m) diameter millstones from Beacon Mill was installed in the mill about this time. The mill also had a pair of 4 in 4 in (1.32 m) diameter French Burr millstones and a pair of 4 in 6 in (1.37 m) Peak millstones. The mill worked for a few years longer powered by a gas engine, but had ceased milling by the early 1930s, but milling was restarted again. The gas engine was replaced by an electric motor in 1954.
Millers
- Henry Dobell 1814-19
- John Russell 1832-75
- Ebenezer Russell 1875 -
- Hugh Russell -
- Caleb Russell 1902-18
- John Russell 1918-57
- Henry Hicks 1960 -
References for above:-
John Russell (9 February 1888 - 18 June 1958), was awarded the very first SPAB
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...
certificate in February 1935 for his "zeal in the maintenance" of his mill.
Machinery
The four patent sails are now carried traditional wooden stocks. When the mill was restored in the 1950s, the Dutch millwright Christiaan Bremer of Adorp
Adorp
Adorp is a village in the municipality of Winsum, in the Netherlands. It is located about 6 km north of Groningen.Until 1990, Adorp was a separate municipality.Adorp is next to Sauwerd and Groningen...
was employed, and he made the stocks in the Dutch style. Although these stocks served the mill for over forty years, the did not represent Kentish practice and were not in accordance with the Code of Practice of 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...
covering mill restoration and repair. The stocks pass through the canister on the cast-iron windshaft, and this carries the brake wheel. The brake wheel drives the wallower, at the top of the upright shaft, and a sack hoist. At the bottom of the upright shaft is the great spur wheel, which 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, of which two remain. These are driven overdrift. A crown wheel drove auxiliary machinery.
External links
- Cranbrook Windmill Association
- Cranbrook mill's entry on Windmill World website.