Argos Hill Mill, Mayfield
Encyclopedia
Argos Hill Mill is a grade II* listed post mill
at Argos Hill, Mayfield, East Sussex
, England
which had been restored, but is now in need of urgent repairs.
blew off in 1929 and the shutters were removed from the sails
in 1932. The mill was acquired by Uckfield District Council in 1955. Neve's, the Heathfield
millwrights fitted a new breast beam and repaired the side girts and corner posts. Further restoration work was done in 1969 by Hole's of Burgess Hill
. A storm damaged a sail in 1976, and a new sail and stock were fitted by Hole's.
Argos Hill Mill has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since at least 2003. In October of that year, members of the Friends of Argos Hill Windmill Society were banned from working on the mill by Wealden District Council, due to the poor structural condition of the mill. A planned extension to a neighbouring property also threatened the mill, as it would encroach into the mill's turning circle if built.
A survey in 2007 revealed the mill was in danger of collapsing. Of concern were the roundhouse, crosstrees, crown tree, sails, tailpole and fantail. On 14 January 2008, a meeting was held in Mayfield, where Wealden District Council put forward options for the mills future. One proposal, to dismantle the mill and remove it to storage was strongly criticised by those attending, including members of the Sussex Mills Group and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
. It was pointed out that Wealden District Council had not spent money allocated for maintenance of the mill, and that giving themselves permission to demolish a listed building would make other listed buildings in the area more vulnerable, and erode the protection given by listed building status. Wealden District Council was also breaking conditions on planning permission it granted itself in respect of scaffolding around the mill, which had been up for longer than the three years allowed by the permission. There were concerns that no repairs would be made before the scaffolding was removed. People were willing to form a trust to take on the mill and restore her. The Friends of Argos Hill Windmill was set up.
in June 2008, it was proposed to convert the windmill to generate electricity, a scheme which Wealden District Council supported but which received much criticism. Among the objectors were the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the Sussex Mills Group. The Friends of Argos Hill Windmill expressed doubts about the scheme. In April 2010, the Argos Hill Windmill Trust was established. The trust intends to lease the mill from Wealden District Council.
carried on a cast iron
Windshaft and is winded by a tailpole mounted fantail
. The main post is made up from four pieces of timber. Along with Jill, Clayton
, she is one of only two windmills in England to retain this feature. The mill drove two pairs of millstone
s, arranged Head and Tail. The cast iron Head Wheel is 10 feet (3.05 m) diameter and the wooden Tail Wheel is 8 feet (2.44 m) diameter. The mill is unusual in the way that it has been extended at the rear, giving it a distinctive appearance.
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...
at Argos Hill, Mayfield, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, 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 had been restored, but is now in need of urgent repairs.
History
The earliest record of a windmill on this site is in 1656. Argos Hill Mill was built in 1835. She worked by wind until 1927, mostly by successive generations of the Weston family. The fantailWindmill 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...
blew off in 1929 and the shutters were removed from the 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:...
in 1932. The mill was acquired by Uckfield District Council in 1955. Neve's, the Heathfield
Heathfield, East Sussex
Heathfield is a small market town, and the principal settlement in the civil parish of Heathfield and Waldron in the Wealden District of East Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, England.-Location:...
millwrights fitted a new breast beam and repaired the side girts and corner posts. Further restoration work was done in 1969 by Hole's of Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill is a civil parish and a town primarily located in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park...
. A storm damaged a sail in 1976, and a new sail and stock were fitted by Hole's.
2008 Threat of demolition
A survey in 2007 revealed the mill was in danger of collapsing. Of concern were the roundhouse, crosstrees, crown tree, sails, tailpole and fantail. On 14 January 2008, a meeting was held in Mayfield, where Wealden District Council put forward options for the mills future. One proposal, to dismantle the mill and remove it to storage was strongly criticised by those attending, including members of the Sussex Mills Group and 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...
. It was pointed out that Wealden District Council had not spent money allocated for maintenance of the mill, and that giving themselves permission to demolish a listed building would make other listed buildings in the area more vulnerable, and erode the protection given by listed building status. Wealden District Council was also breaking conditions on planning permission it granted itself in respect of scaffolding around the mill, which had been up for longer than the three years allowed by the permission. There were concerns that no repairs would be made before the scaffolding was removed. People were willing to form a trust to take on the mill and restore her. The Friends of Argos Hill Windmill was set up.
in June 2008, it was proposed to convert the windmill to generate electricity, a scheme which Wealden District Council supported but which received much criticism. Among the objectors were the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the Sussex Mills Group. The Friends of Argos Hill Windmill expressed doubts about the scheme. In April 2010, the Argos Hill Windmill Trust was established. The trust intends to lease the mill from Wealden District Council.
Description
Argos Hill Mill is a post mill on a single storey roundhouse. She had four Patent SailsWindmill 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 and is winded by a tailpole mounted 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...
. The main post is made up from four pieces of timber. Along with Jill, Clayton
Clayton Windmills
The Clayton Windmills, known locally as Jack and Jill, stand on the South Downs above the village of Clayton, West Sussex, England. They comprise a post mill and a tower mill, and the roundhouse of a former post mill. All three are Grade II* listed buildings....
, she is one of only two windmills in England to retain this feature. The mill drove 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, arranged Head and Tail. The cast iron Head Wheel is 10 feet (3.05 m) diameter and the wooden Tail Wheel is 8 feet (2.44 m) diameter. The mill is unusual in the way that it has been extended at the rear, giving it a distinctive appearance.
External links
- Friends of Argos Hill Windmill website
- Windmill World Page on Argos Hill Mill.