White Roding Windmill
Encyclopedia
White Roding Windmill is a grade II listed Tower mill
at White Roding, Essex
, England
which has been preserved.
which had stood on the site since 1609. The post mill was destroyed on 1 January 1877 when the main post broke in a gale as the miller had too much cloth spread on the Common sails
. A new tower mill was built by Whitmore's the Wickham Market
, Suffolk
millwright
s to replace the post mill. The mill worked by wind until 1926, and then by engine until 1931. The lease on the mill expired that year and was not renewed. In 1937, the mill was purchased by the actor Michael Redgrave
, passing to a company in Barrow-in-Furness
in 1946. During the 1950s, the mill was derelict and threatened with demolition on more than one occasion. In the 1970s, millwright
s Philip Barrett-Lennard and Vincent Pargeter built a new cap for the mill.
cap winded by a six bladed Fantail
. It had four Patent sails
carried on a cast iron
windshaft. The only remaining piece of machinery is the Brake Wheel, which is 9 in 3 in (2.82 m) diameter with 115 cogs. All other machinery was removed shortly after the Second World War.
The tower is 42 feet (12.8 m) high, 22 in 6 in (6.86 m) diameter at the base and 13 in 6 in (4.11 m) diameter at the curb. The walls are 26 inches (660.4 mm) thick at the base. The mill is 50 feet (15.24 m) to the top of the cap. The mill drove two pairs of underdrift millstone
s.
Reference for above:-
Tower mill
A tower mill is a type of windmill which consists of a brick or stone tower, on top of which sits a roof or cap which can be turned to bring the sails into the wind....
at White Roding, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, 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 preserved.
History
White Roding Windmill was built in 1877, replacing a post millPost 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 on the site since 1609. The post mill was destroyed on 1 January 1877 when the main post broke in a gale as the miller had too much cloth spread on the Common 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:...
. A new tower mill was built by Whitmore's the Wickham Market
Wickham Market
Wickham Market is a large village situated in the River Deben valley of Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coastal heritage area.It is on the A12 trunk road thirteen miles north-east of the county town of Ipswich, five miles north-east of Woodbridge. Its railway station is located approximately...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
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 to replace the post mill. The mill worked by wind until 1926, and then by engine until 1931. The lease on the mill expired that year and was not renewed. In 1937, the mill was purchased by the actor Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
, passing to a company in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
in 1946. During the 1950s, the mill was derelict and threatened with demolition on more than one occasion. In the 1970s, 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 Philip Barrett-Lennard and Vincent Pargeter built a new cap for the mill.
Description
White Roding windmill is a five storey brick tower mill which had an ogeeOgee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
cap winded by a six bladed 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...
. It had four Patent 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:...
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 only remaining piece of machinery is the Brake Wheel, which is 9 in 3 in (2.82 m) diameter with 115 cogs. All other machinery was removed shortly after the Second World War.
The tower is 42 feet (12.8 m) high, 22 in 6 in (6.86 m) diameter at the base and 13 in 6 in (4.11 m) diameter at the curb. The walls are 26 inches (660.4 mm) thick at the base. The mill is 50 feet (15.24 m) to the top of the cap. The mill drove two pairs of underdrift 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.
Millers
- George Wilson 1830–1839 (post mill)
- William Portway 1845–1848
- John Dixon 1850
- Benjamin Roast 1855–1877
- Benjamin Roast 1877–1890 (tower mill)
- William and Frank Roast 1890–1917
- William Garner and Sons 1917 - 1936
Reference for above:-
External links
- Windmill World webpage on White Roding Windmill.