Aythorpe Roding Windmill
Encyclopedia
Aythorpe Roding Windmill is a grade II* listed Post mill
at Aythorpe Roding
, Essex
, England
which has been restored to working order.
. It was advertised in the Chelmsford Chronicle of 10 February 1860 as "for sale to be pulled down and removed by the purchaser". At some point, probably between 1860 and 1868, the mill was modernised. The Common sails
were replaced by Patents; the wooden windshaft replaced by a cast iron
one; the layout of the millstones changed from Head and Tail to Breast; a roundhouse was added to protect the trestle and provide storage space; a fantail was added to turn the mill to wind automatically, replacing the manual tailpole previously carried. The mill had been fitted with a fantail
by 1868, and a steam engine
by 1890, driving an extra pair of millstone
s in the roundhouse. It was working until 1937. The mill was leased by Essex County Council in 1940 Restoration by millwright
Vincent Pargeter was completed in 1982. The mill ground its first grain after restoration on 3 March 1982. It was officially opened to the public by Ken Farries on 30 April 1983.
carried on a cast iron
Windshaft. Two pairs of millstones are located in the breast. The mill is winded by fantail
. The mill is 44 in 3 in (13.49 m) high to the roof.
millwright
s.
, replacing a former wooden one. It was probably secondhand when fitted as it is longer than is really necessary. The mill has four double Patent sails. The mill would originally have been built with Common sails and a wooden windshaft.
s arranged Head and Tail, and was converted to a breast stone layout at the time the cast iron windshaft and Patent sails were fitted. The Wallower is wooden, and was secondhand when fitted to the mill, as was the cast iron Great Spur Wheel.
Reference for above:-
titled Triple Cross which was filmed in 1972.
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 Aythorpe Roding
Aythorpe Roding
Aythorpe Roding is a village and civil parish in Essex, England and is one of The Rodings of Essex. It is located Northwest from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Uttlesford and in the parliamentary constituency of Saffron Walden...
, 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 restored to working order.
History
Aythorpe Roding Windmill stands on the site of an earlier mill which was standing in 1615. It was probably built in 1779 as witnessed by the inscription Built 1779 on a timber in the mill. The mill was insured in 1798 for £50 and in 1805 for £140. The mill was drawn on the 1846 Tithe Map as having an open trestleTrestle (mill)
The Trestle of a Post mill is the arrangement of the Main post, crosstrees and quarterbars that form the substructure of this type of windmill. It may or may not be surrounded by a roundhouse...
. It was advertised in the Chelmsford Chronicle of 10 February 1860 as "for sale to be pulled down and removed by the purchaser". At some point, probably between 1860 and 1868, the mill was modernised. 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:...
were replaced by Patents; the wooden windshaft replaced by 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...
one; the layout of the millstones changed from Head and Tail to Breast; a roundhouse was added to protect the trestle and provide storage space; a fantail was added to turn the mill to wind automatically, replacing the manual tailpole previously carried. The mill had been fitted with a 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...
by 1868, and a steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
by 1890, driving an extra pair 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 in the roundhouse. It was working until 1937. The mill was leased by Essex County Council in 1940 Restoration by 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...
Vincent Pargeter was completed in 1982. The mill ground its first grain after restoration on 3 March 1982. It was officially opened to the public by Ken Farries on 30 April 1983.
Description
Aythorpe Roding Windmill is a post mill with a single storey roundhouse. It has four double 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. Two pairs of millstones are located in the breast. The mill is winded by 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 mill is 44 in 3 in (13.49 m) high to the roof.
Trestle and roundhouse
The crosstrees are 24 feet (7.32 m) long. The upper crosstree is 10 inches (254 mm) square in section and the lower crosstree is 13 inches (330 mm) by 12 inches (305 mm). The upper crosstree is made of two pieces of timber, scarf jointed in the vertical plane, and with an iron plate bolted under the join. There is also an oak plate on one side of the crosstree, which is bolted to the crosstree, a pair of spacers being used as the scarf is within the horns of the main post. The lower crosstree bears a date of 1869, which is probably the date the roundhouse was erected. The main post is 20 in 3 in (6.17 m) in length, and 30 inches (762 mm) by 29 inches (737 mm) in section at its base. It is fitted with a cast iron Samson head by Christie and Norris, the ChelmsfordChelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
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.
Body
The body of the mill measures 21 feet (6.4 m) by 12 feet (3.66 m) in plan, making this the largest post mill in Essex. The crown tree is 20 inches (508 mm) square in section at the ends, and 20 inches (508 mm) by 19 inches (483 mm) at the centre.Sails and windshaft
The windshaft is of cast ironCast 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...
, replacing a former wooden one. It was probably secondhand when fitted as it is longer than is really necessary. The mill has four double Patent sails. The mill would originally have been built with Common sails and a wooden windshaft.
Machinery
The Brake Wheel was converted from Compass arm construction. It has a six armed cast iron centre and wooden rim and it is 10 in 2 in (3.1 m) diameter. The mill was originally built with the millstoneMillstone
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, and was converted to a breast stone layout at the time the cast iron windshaft and Patent sails were fitted. The Wallower is wooden, and was secondhand when fitted to the mill, as was the cast iron Great Spur Wheel.
Millers
- William Glasscock 1615 (previous mill)
- Joshua Wright 1798
- Joseph Knight 1805
- Tabrum 1833
- Stephen Crossingham 1848 - 1850
- E P Bennett 1866
- James Webster 1874 - 1878
- Charles Large 1882
- Thomas Belsham 1890
- Ernest and John Belsham 1906 - 1937
Reference for above:-
Public access
The mill is open to the public on the last Sunday of each month, from April to September.Culture and media
Aythorpe Roding Windmill appeared in an episode of The ProtectorsThe Protectors
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It is Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in the present day...
titled Triple Cross which was filmed in 1972.
External links
- Windmill World webpage on Aythorpe Roding mill.