Blackdown Mill, Punnetts Town
Encyclopedia
Blackdown Mill or Cherry Clack Mill is a grade II listed smock mill
at Punnetts Town, East Sussex
, England
, which has been restored.
, Kent
where she was known as the Cherry Clack Mill. She was dismantled and moved to Punnetts Town in 1859 to replace a post mill
that had burnt down. The move was done by Neve's, the Heathfield
millwright
s. The mill was working by wind until the 1920s, when the mill became unable to turn to wind because of a broken curb. The mill was stripped of machinery and the cap and sails removed by Neve's in 1933.
In 1946, Archie Dallaway decided to restore the mill back to working order. A new cap, of a different design to the original was built. A new fantail
fitted, and the windshaft from Staplecross Mill, which was demolished in 1951, was installed. Four new sails were made and fitted in 1972. Two pairs of millstone
s were installed, one pair coming from a watermill at Polegate
. A third pair of stones was added later.
. When last working for trade she had fourPatent sails
sails. The mill drove two pairs of overdrift millstone
s, with a third pair worked by engine. A saw was also worked by the mill.
As restored, a beehive cap clad in aluminium is now carried, and the sails are now common sails. The sails are 26 in 6 in (8.08 m) long and 5 in 3 in (1.6 m) wide. The cap is winded by a 6 feet (1.83 m) diameter fantail. The cast iron
windshaft carries a 8 in 4 in (2.54 m) diameter oak
brake wheel, which drives the original cast iron wallower on a cast iron upright shaft. The great spur wheel is a replacement, built by Mr Dallaway. Three pairs of millstones are driven overdrift. Recent photos show that the mill is missing two sails and the fantail.
References for above:-
Smock mill
The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind...
at Punnetts Town, 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 has been restored.
History
Blackdown Mill, was originally built at Three Chimneys, BiddendenBiddenden
Biddenden is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village lies on the Weald of Kent, some five miles north of Tenterden. It was centre for Wealden iron industry and also of clothmaking. During the reign of Edward III some Flemish clothworkers settled in the area...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
where she was known as the Cherry Clack Mill. She was dismantled and moved to Punnetts Town in 1859 to replace a post mill
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...
that had burnt down. The move was done by 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:...
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. The mill was working by wind until the 1920s, when the mill became unable to turn to wind because of a broken curb. The mill was stripped of machinery and the cap and sails removed by Neve's in 1933.
In 1946, Archie Dallaway decided to restore the mill back to working order. A new cap, of a different design to the original was built. A new 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...
fitted, and the windshaft from Staplecross Mill, which was demolished in 1951, was installed. Four new sails were made and fitted in 1972. 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 were installed, one pair coming from a watermill at Polegate
Polegate
Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is located five miles north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne, and is part of the greater area of that town. Although once a railway settlement, its importance as such has now waned with...
. A third pair of stones was added later.
Description
Blackdown Mill is a three storey smock mill on a single storey brick base. It originally had Kentish style cap, winded by a 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...
. When last working for trade she had fourPatent 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:...
sails. The mill drove two pairs of overdrift 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, with a third pair worked by engine. A saw was also worked by the mill.
As restored, a beehive cap clad in aluminium is now carried, and the sails are now common sails. The sails are 26 in 6 in (8.08 m) long and 5 in 3 in (1.6 m) wide. The cap is winded by a 6 feet (1.83 m) diameter fantail. The 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 carries a 8 in 4 in (2.54 m) diameter oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
brake wheel, which drives the original cast iron wallower on a cast iron upright shaft. The great spur wheel is a replacement, built by Mr Dallaway. Three pairs of millstones are driven overdrift. Recent photos show that the mill is missing two sails and the fantail.
Millers
- Samuel Dallaway 1859 - 1876
- Dallaway Brothers (Charles, Thomas and John) 1876 - c.1910
- Demas Dallaway 1910 - 1933
- Archie Dallaway 1946 -
References for above:-
External links
- Windmill World Page on Blackdown windmill.