Nutley Windmill
Encyclopedia
Nutley Windmill is a grade II* listed open trestle
post mill
at Nutley
, East Sussex
, England
which has been restored to working order.
, Goudhurst
, Kent
circa 1817. The first record of a windmill at Nutley is in 1840. A timber in the mill has been dated by dendrochronology
to 1738-70, and the main post is even older, dating to 1533-70. In 1870, the mill was painted white and working on four common sails
. The mill was modernised in the 1880s, with the original wooden windshaft being replaced by a cast iron one, and spring sails replacing the commons. Larger millstone
s were added. The mill was tarred at about this point, as shown by a photo dated 1890. She worked by wind until 1908, although latterly in poor condition. In 1928, the owner of the mill, Lady Castle Stewart
, had the mill shored up with brick piers and steel joists below the body. These allowed the mill to survive until she could be restored.
Restoration started in 1968, The mill turned by wind again in 1971, and ground grain again in 1972. In 1975, Nutley Windmill was given to the Uckfield and District Preservation Society by Lady Castle Stewart.
A stock broke in 1984, while filming was being done for the children's TV programme Chocky's Children for Thames Television
. A new one was fitted a week later with aid from Thames. The mill was damaged in the Great Storm of 1987
, with over £6,000 worth of damage incurred. New rear steps were fitted to the mill in 1994/5, the work funded by a grant from British Telecom. Repairs to the trestle and head wheel in 1998 allowed the head stones to be worked for the first time since the mill stopped work.
and two spring sails carried on a cast iron
windshaft and is winded by a tailpole. The mill drives two pairs of millstone
s, arranged head and tail. The wooden head wheel and tail wheel are 7 feet (2.13 m) diameter each. Both have been converted from compass arm to clasp arm construction. The body of the mill is 15 feet (4.57 m) long and 10 feet (3.05 m) wide.
References for above:-
Trestle (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
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 Nutley
Nutley, East Sussex
Nutley is a village in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It lies about north-east of Uckfield, the main road being on the A22. Nutley, Fairwarp and Maresfield together form the Maresfield civil parish....
, 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 to working order.
History
Nutley Windmill is thought to have been moved from KilndownKilndown
Kilndown is a hamlet west of Cranbrook in Kent, England.-History:Kilndown was estalished in the 1840s by Viscount Beresford.-References:...
, Goudhurst
Goudhurst
Goudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about south of Maidstone.It stands on a crossroads , where there is a large village pond. It is also in the Cranbrook School catchment 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...
circa 1817. The first record of a windmill at Nutley is in 1840. A timber in the mill has been dated by dendrochronology
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
to 1738-70, and the main post is even older, dating to 1533-70. In 1870, the mill was painted white and working on four 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:...
. The mill was modernised in the 1880s, with the original wooden windshaft being replaced by a cast iron one, and spring sails replacing the commons. Larger 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 added. The mill was tarred at about this point, as shown by a photo dated 1890. She worked by wind until 1908, although latterly in poor condition. In 1928, the owner of the mill, Lady Castle Stewart
Arthur Stuart, 7th Earl Castle Stewart
The Rt. Hon. Arthur Stuart, 7th Earl Castle Stewart, MC , known as Viscount Stuart from 1915 to 1921, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Unionist politician....
, had the mill shored up with brick piers and steel joists below the body. These allowed the mill to survive until she could be restored.
Restoration started in 1968, The mill turned by wind again in 1971, and ground grain again in 1972. In 1975, Nutley Windmill was given to the Uckfield and District Preservation Society by Lady Castle Stewart.
A stock broke in 1984, while filming was being done for the children's TV programme Chocky's Children for Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
. A new one was fitted a week later with aid from Thames. The mill was damaged in the Great Storm of 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
, with over £6,000 worth of damage incurred. New rear steps were fitted to the mill in 1994/5, the work funded by a grant from British Telecom. Repairs to the trestle and head wheel in 1998 allowed the head stones to be worked for the first time since the mill stopped work.
Description
Nutley Windmill is an open trestle post mill. She has two common 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:...
and two spring 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. The mill drives 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 wooden head wheel and tail wheel are 7 feet (2.13 m) diameter each. Both have been converted from compass arm to clasp arm construction. The body of the mill is 15 feet (4.57 m) long and 10 feet (3.05 m) wide.
Millers
- Henry Setford 1840
- James Martin 1845
- Luke Godley 1851
- B Martin 1862 - 1874
- William Taylor 1874 - 1908
References for above:-
External links
- Visiting information
- Windmill World Page on Nutley Windmill.
- Uckfield & District Preservation Society's website