Black Mill, Barham
Encyclopedia
Black Mill or Barham Downs Mill was a smock mill at Barham, Kent
, England
which was accidentally burnt down in 1970 whilst under restoration.
Black Mill was the third mill on the site. There was a mill on Barham Down in the thirteenth century. A mill was marked on Philip Symonson's map of 1596, John Speed's
map of 1611, Robert Morden's
map of 1695 and Emanuel Bowen
's map of 1736. This mill was originally a little lower down the hill, and was moved to a new position higher up.
The second mill was marked on the 1819-43 Ordnance Survey
map.
The Black Mill was built by John Holman, the Canterbury
millwright
in 1834. She was worked for many years by H S Pledge, then R Walter for over 50 years, and after that by T Denne and Sons. The mill was struck by lightning on 17 June 1878 and lost a sail. Over £150 had to be spent to repair the mill. The last owner, Mr E Mannering, fitted the fantail from Willesborough windmill in 1946, and restored the mill in 1956. He was awarded a Windmill Certificate by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
for his efforts. The work was done by Holman's of Canterbury, the last millwrighting they did before the firm stopped doing millwrighting work. Kent County Council
contributed £400 towards the restoration work. The work included the replacement of two sails that had been blown off in a storm on 13 March 1951. The mill featured in the 1955 film "Raising a Riot" starring Kenneth More
. The mill was purchased by Kent County Council in the late 1960s and burnt down on 3 March 1970 when a spark from a bonfire set light to the mill. A new stage had been prepared for the restored mill, and this was donated to Draper's Windmill, Margate
and erected there by Vincent Pargeter.
mounted on a cast iron
windshaft and was winded by a fantail
. The mill drove four pairs of millstone
s.
Barham, Kent
Barham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated close to the A2 road between Canterbury and Dover, 7 miles south-east of Canterbury and 7 miles north of Folkestone....
, 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 was accidentally burnt down in 1970 whilst under restoration.
History
John Speed
John Speed was an English historian and cartographer.-Life:He was born at Farndon, Cheshire, and went into his father's tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50...
map of 1611, Robert Morden's
Robert Morden
Robert Morden was a British bookseller, publisher, and maker of maps and globes.He was among the first successful commercial map makers....
map of 1695 and Emanuel Bowen
Emanuel Bowen
Emanuel Bowen was an English map engraver, who worked for George II of England and Louis XV of France as a geographerHe published a 'Complete Atlas of Geography,' 1744-7; an 'English Atlas, with a new set of maps,' 1745; a 'Complete Atlas .....
's map of 1736. This mill was originally a little lower down the hill, and was moved to a new position higher up.
The second mill was marked on the 1819-43 Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
map.
The Black Mill was built by John Holman, the Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
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...
in 1834. She was worked for many years by H S Pledge, then R Walter for over 50 years, and after that by T Denne and Sons. The mill was struck by lightning on 17 June 1878 and lost a sail. Over £150 had to be spent to repair the mill. The last owner, Mr E Mannering, fitted the fantail from Willesborough windmill in 1946, and restored the mill in 1956. He was awarded a Windmill Certificate by 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...
for his efforts. The work was done by Holman's of Canterbury, the last millwrighting they did before the firm stopped doing millwrighting work. Kent County Council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...
contributed £400 towards the restoration work. The work included the replacement of two sails that had been blown off in a storm on 13 March 1951. The mill featured in the 1955 film "Raising a Riot" starring Kenneth More
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
. The mill was purchased by Kent County Council in the late 1960s and burnt down on 3 March 1970 when a spark from a bonfire set light to the mill. A new stage had been prepared for the restored mill, and this was donated to Draper's Windmill, Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
and erected there by Vincent Pargeter.
Description
Black Mill was a four storey smock mill mounted on a single storey brick base. It had four single 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:...
mounted 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 was winded by 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...
. The mill drove four 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.
Millers
- E Lawrence, miller in 1845
- Henry Sturgess Pledge, miller in 1850, later working the Wind, Steam and Water millStour watermillsMan has used the River Stour for centuries as a source of power. Many different processes were performed by the use of water power:- Corn milling, fulling, paper making and electricity generation...
at KenningtonKennington, KentKennington is a suburb of Ashford in Kent, England. It is about a mile northeast of the town centre and north of the M20 motorway, and contains the 12th century church, St Mary's. The main A28 Canterbury Road and A251 Faversham Road run through the village...
. - Richard Walter
- T Denne and Sons Ltd, millers in 1933, still in business at Hanover MillStour watermillsMan has used the River Stour for centuries as a source of power. Many different processes were performed by the use of water power:- Corn milling, fulling, paper making and electricity generation...
, MershamMershamMersham is a small village and civil parish, three miles east of Willesborough and the town of Ashford in the county of Kent.-History:Historically Mersham has been a farming community with close ties to the local market town of Ashford. The small village dates back to Saxon times and is mentioned...
. - W Mannering
External links
- Windmill World page on the mill.