Description

HERSTMONCEUX WINDMILL HILL
TQ 6412

37/389 Windmill Hill Windmill

13.10.52 II

The entry shall be amended to read;

TQ 6412 HERSTMONCEUX WINDMILL LANE
(north side) Windmill Hill
37/389
The Windmill
13.10.52
II* (star)

Post type windmill. Built c1814 by the Lewes mill-wright,
Medhurst. It is the largest postmill in the country as regards
body size, with a basic floor area of 21' 3"x 12' 3" plus 1'
6" projection on the windward face, at 48ft the tallest
windmill in Sussex and the last remaining mill in England to
possess the remains of a centrifugal governor system for
controlling the sail area, though at the time of inspection
this had been removed for safekeeping elsewhere. It comprises
a 2 storey tarred Flemish bond brickwork roundhouse with sash
windows and a 3 storey timber-framed body with ogee head clad
in weatherbording and further clad in sheet iron on the
weather sides. Most of the ladder and part of the tailpiece
survives but the sails are missing. The roundhouse contains on
the ground floor the bases of 4 brick piers supporting the
main post and trestle on the first floor and a heavily joisted
ceiling. The first floor has the crosstrees, quarterbars and
main post carved with the date 1856 and bins for steam driven
stones built on the quarterbars. The body bottom floor has the
upper part of the main post supporting the crowntreee, an
oscillating sieve grader and the bottom of the wire cylinder
flour dresser, a wire cylinder grain cleaner and extractor
fan, the complete tentering gear and governor to tail
millstones, part of the tentering gear to the head stones,
part of the meal bins and the horse to the millstone tun. The
body first floor has the cast iron windshaft carrying the
brake wheel and tailwheel, the tail millstones (bedstones in
place, runner stone resting on crowntree), driving quants and
bevel pinions to both sets of stones, wire cylinder flour
dressing machine and driving gears fairly complete and
transverse shaft with pinion and pulley for driving the flour
dresser from the brake wheel. The body second floor contains
the top of the brake wheel with pinion and pulley to drive the
sack hoist, the sack hoist bollard and pulley, various bins to
feed the millstones and flour dresser and part of the
centrifugal governor system for sail regulation. This mill
never had a tailpole but was turned to the wind by pushing the
body round manually using the tailpole. It ceased turning in
1893 when steam-driven stones were set up in the roundhouse.

------------------------------------

HERSTMONCEUX WINDMILL HILL
1.
5208
Windmill Hill Windmill
TQ 6412 37/389 13.10.52

II

2.
Post type. Probably late C18. Built by the Lewes mill-wright, Medhurst,
and said to have been the largest post mill in Sussex. Two storeyed roundhouse
of tarred brick. The mill itself is covered with sheets of metal, now very
rusty. Sweeps and fantail missing. Machinery said to be intact.

Listing NGR: TQ6470612154

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Windmill Hill Mill, Herstmonceux at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q8024294

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)