Stone Cross Windmill

Stone Cross Windmill

The mill in 2007
Origin
Mill name Stone Cross Mill
White Mill
Blackness Mill
Mill location TQ 620 043
50°48′58″N 0°17′53″E / 50.816°N 0.298°E / 50.816; 0.298)
Operator(s) Stone Cross Mill Trust
Year built 1876
Information
Purpose Corn mill
Type Tower mill
Storeys Five storeys
Number of sails Four sails
Type of sails Patent sails
Windshaft Cast iron
Winding Fantail
Number of pairs of millstones Three pairs

Stone Cross Windmill is a grade II* listed[1] tower mill at Stone Cross, Sussex, England which has been restored and is open to the public. The mill was also known as Blackness Mill and the White Mill.[2]

History

Stone Cross Windmill was built in 1876 by Stephen Neve, the Warbleton millwright.[3] The towe was built by Thomas Honeysett, a local bricklayer and fitted out by Neve with machinery supplied by the Phoenix Iron Foundry, Lewes.[2] Two sails were blown off in 1925.[4] It was working by wind until 1937.[3] The mill was used as an observation post during the Second World War. In January 1962, planning permission was granted to convert the mill into a house. Mr Ron Hall, the owner of the Mill House, bought the mill and outbuildings, and decided to restore the mill instead of converting it to residential use.[4]

In 1966, Mr Hall started to repair the mill, which in 1977 was in a similar condition to when it stopped working, with two sails and missing the fantail.[3] By the 1990s, the mill was getting into disrepair, and a trust was formed to buy and restore the mill. Stone Cross Mill Trust became a registered charity in 1996, and work to restore the mill began in 1998. The mill was able to produce wholemeal flour again in 2000. In 2005, the Trust were awarded a plaque by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings "in recognition of the high quality of the restoration of the mill back to working order".[5] Funding for the restoration was provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund, South East England Development Agency, East Sussex County Council and Wealden District Council.[4][5] Two sails were removed in 2009 for repairs, while the other pair of sails and cap were also removed for repairs in 2011. Stone Cross Mill is twinned with De Wachter, Zuidlaren, Netherlands.[2]

Description

For an explanation of the various pieces of machinery, see Mill machinery.

Stone Cross Windmill is a five storey tower mill with a stage at first floor level. the mill has a domed cap which is winded by a fantail. It has four Patent sails carried on a cast iron Windshaft. The 8-foot-7-inch (2.62 m) diameter Brake Wheel is iron. The three pairs of millstones are overdriven. The tower is 16-foot-6-inch (5.03 m) diameter at the base and 11-foot (3.35 m) at the curb, with a height of 38-foot (11.58 m) to the curb.[3]

Millers

References for above:-[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "STONE CROSS WINDMILL, RATTLE ROAD, WESTHAM, WEALDEN, EAST SUSSEX". English Heritage. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Stone Cross Windmill". Stone Cross Mill Trust. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Brunnarius, Martin (1979). The Windmills of Sussex. Chichester: Philimore. pp. 89–91, 192. ISBN 0-85033-345-8.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Stone Cross Windmill - The history of Stone Cross Windmill". Sussex Mills Group. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
  5. 1 2 "Stone Cross Windmill". Sussex Mills Group. Retrieved 13 May 2008.

Further reading

Hemming, Peter (1936). Windmills in Sussex. London: C W Daniel.  Online version

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