Holton Windmill
Encyclopedia
Holton Windmill is a Grade II listed post mill
at Holton St. Peter, Suffolk
, England
which has been preserved as a landmark.
. Wilkinson sold the mill to John Youngs on Wenhaston
in 1851. Youngs died in 1861 and the mill was sold to Andrew Johnstone of Holton Hall. He in turn sold it to Thomas Buxton in 1863. The mill was again for sale in 1886. An engine shed indicated that an auxiliary engine was employed at that time. The mill was last worked in 1910. The mill was then largely stripped of machinery and used as a summer house
. A fantail
was added about this time.
The mill became derelict over the years, until it was purchased by Colonel T S Irwin in 1947. In 1949 the Holton Mill Preservation Fund Committee was formed, and some repairs were carried out. East Suffolk County Council
was leased the mill in the mid 1960s and restoration commenced in 1963.
The restoration was carried out by Mr and Mrs H Fisk, Marcus Cook and Chris Hullcoop. The mill was repainted, with paint donated by ICI
. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
entered into talks with East Suffolk County Council and a small grant was given to the volunteers. In 1964, Stanley Freese joined the team. The fantail was repaired and the Spring sails were dismantled as they were unsafe. Neville Martin, the Beccles
millwright
, inspected the mill for the Ministry of Works. As the mill was not structurally sound enough to be a working mill, it was decided to restore it as a landmark. Four Common sails were fitted; these are lighter than Spring sails. The body of the mill was reinforced by a cantilever beam to support the prick post added when the head of the mill was extended.
By late 1965, the wind could turn the remaining pair of sails. In 1966 there were further repairs, including a complete new roof, reboarding the mill and repairs to the floors. Four new Common sails were fitted. East Suffolk County Council took a new 50 year lease on the mill in March 1968. In 1992, new replica Spring sails were fitted to the mill.
post mill. A roundhouse was added by 1835. The mill was originally hand winded. A Fantail
was added and the mill was also worked by a steam engine. The mill has been extended at the head and the tail. The mill has one pair of Common sails and one pair of Spring sails. Only the cast iron
windshaft and Brake Wheel remain of the internal machinery. The roundhouse appears from the outside to have only one storey, but it has been excavated internally to provide two storeys.
Reference for above:-
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 Holton St. Peter, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, 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 preserved as a landmark.
History
Holton Mill was built in 1749 by John Swann. It was owned by William Fiske until he died in 1761, and was then purchased by Brame Oxford. When he was declared bankrupt in 1781 the mill was acquired by James Tillot. It then passed to John Tillot, who died in 1835. The mill was then put up for auction, and was for the first time described as having a roundhouse. It was bought by Samuel Wilkinson, a miller from BlythburghBlythburgh
Blythburgh is a small English village in an area known as the Sandlings, part of the Suffolk heritage coast. Located close to an area of flooded marshland and mud-flats, in 2007 its population was estimated to be 300. Blythburgh is best known for its church, Holy Trinity, internationally known as...
. Wilkinson sold the mill to John Youngs on Wenhaston
Wenhaston
Wenhaston is a small village of 818 people situated to the south of the River Blyth in northeastern Suffolk, England. Roman coins, pottery and building materials unearthed in local fields indicate the existence of a settlement at Wenhaston from the 1st century AD, and indeed this was probably a...
in 1851. Youngs died in 1861 and the mill was sold to Andrew Johnstone of Holton Hall. He in turn sold it to Thomas Buxton in 1863. The mill was again for sale in 1886. An engine shed indicated that an auxiliary engine was employed at that time. The mill was last worked in 1910. The mill was then largely stripped of machinery and used as a summer house
Summer house
A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed to provide cool shady places...
. 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...
was added about this time.
The mill became derelict over the years, until it was purchased by Colonel T S Irwin in 1947. In 1949 the Holton Mill Preservation Fund Committee was formed, and some repairs were carried out. East Suffolk County Council
East Suffolk
East Suffolk, along with West Suffolk, was created in 1888 as an administrative county of England. The administrative county was based on the eastern quarter sessions division of Suffolk...
was leased the mill in the mid 1960s and restoration commenced in 1963.
The restoration was carried out by Mr and Mrs H Fisk, Marcus Cook and Chris Hullcoop. The mill was repainted, with paint donated by ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
. 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...
entered into talks with East Suffolk County Council and a small grant was given to the volunteers. In 1964, Stanley Freese joined the team. The fantail was repaired and the Spring sails were dismantled as they were unsafe. Neville Martin, the Beccles
Beccles
Beccles is a market town and civil parish in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 Blythburgh and A12 road, northeast of London as the crow flies, southeast of Norwich, and north northeast of the county town of...
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...
, inspected the mill for the Ministry of Works. As the mill was not structurally sound enough to be a working mill, it was decided to restore it as a landmark. Four Common sails were fitted; these are lighter than Spring sails. The body of the mill was reinforced by a cantilever beam to support the prick post added when the head of the mill was extended.
By late 1965, the wind could turn the remaining pair of sails. In 1966 there were further repairs, including a complete new roof, reboarding the mill and repairs to the floors. Four new Common sails were fitted. East Suffolk County Council took a new 50 year lease on the mill in March 1968. In 1992, new replica Spring sails were fitted to the mill.
Description
Holton Windmill was built as 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...
post mill. A roundhouse was added by 1835. The mill was originally hand winded. 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...
was added and the mill was also worked by a steam engine. The mill has been extended at the head and the tail. The mill has one pair of Common sails and one pair of Spring sails. Only 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 and Brake Wheel remain of the internal machinery. The roundhouse appears from the outside to have only one storey, but it has been excavated internally to provide two storeys.
Millers
- Samuel Banell 1810s
- William Taylor 1835 - 1845
- William Wilkinson 1845 - 1851
- Edward Gotta Young 1851 - 1870
- William Gibson 1870 - 1910
Reference for above:-
Public access
The exterior of Holton Mill is open to the public (courtesy of the landowner) and occasionally the interior.External links
- Windmill World webpage on Holton mill.