Ramsey Windmill, Essex
Encyclopedia
Ramsey Windmill is a grade II* listed Post mill
at Ramsey
, Essex
, England
which has been restored.
, Suffolk
. It was the north westerly one of four mills on the Mill Hills shown on the 1838 tithe map. The mill was moved to Ramsey in 1842 by Henry Collins, millwright
of Woodbridge. The mill was working until the Second World War, and then left to deteriorate until 1974 when a new owner set about restoring the mill. Members of the Suffolk Mills Group assisted with work on Ramsey Windmill between 1974 and 1978.
, similar to that seen at Icklesham
today. It has four double Patent sails
. There are two pairs of millstone
s in the breast and a third pair in the tail.
is of oak
. The main post is 17 in 6 in (5.33 m) in length, 27 inches (686 mm) square at its base. The mill was built with a roundhouse from the start. Having started life in Suffolk, and being moved by a Suffolk millwright, the normal practice from that county was followed, with the roundhouse having three storeys.
windshaft and four double Patent sails.
s via a cast iron Wallower and Spur Wheel. The cast iron Tail Wheel is 4 feet (1.22 m) diameter. It drives a single pair of underdrift 3 in 4 in (1.02 m) diameter millstones via an Upright Shaft and Spur wheel.
References 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 Ramsey
Ramsey, Essex
Ramsey is a village on the B1352 road , near the town of Harwich, in the Tendring district, in the English county of Essex. It has a pub called the Castle Inn...
, 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.
History
Ramsey Windmill was originally built in WoodbridgeWoodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
, 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...
. It was the north westerly one of four mills on the Mill Hills shown on the 1838 tithe map. The mill was moved to Ramsey in 1842 by Henry Collins, 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...
of Woodbridge. The mill was working until the Second World War, and then left to deteriorate until 1974 when a new owner set about restoring the mill. Members of the Suffolk Mills Group assisted with work on Ramsey Windmill between 1974 and 1978.
Description
Ramsey Windmill is a post mill with a three storey roundhouse. The mill was winded by a roof mounted 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...
, similar to that seen at Icklesham
Hogg Hill Mill, Icklesham
Hogg Hill Mill is a post mill at Icklesham, Sussex, England which has been restored.-History:Hogg Hill Mill was built in Pett in 1781 and moved to Icklesham in 1790. It was working by wind until 1920, when it was stopped owing to a weak weatherbeam...
today. It has four double Patent 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:...
. There are 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 in the breast and a third pair in the tail.
Trestle and roundhouse
The 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...
is of 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...
. The main post is 17 in 6 in (5.33 m) in length, 27 inches (686 mm) square at its base. The mill was built with a roundhouse from the start. Having started life in Suffolk, and being moved by a Suffolk millwright, the normal practice from that county was followed, with the roundhouse having three storeys.
Body
The body of the mill measures 16 feet (4.88 m) by 10 in 4 in (3.15 m) in plan. The mill is 48 in 6 in (14.78 m) high overall. The Crowntree is 22½ inches (572 mm) square in section. The side girts are 9 inches (229 mm) by 14 inches (356 mm) in section.Sails and Windshaft
Ramsey Mill has a 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...
windshaft and four double Patent sails.
Machinery
The wooden Head Wheel is of clasp arm construction, 7 in 3 in (2.21 m) diameter, with 90 cogs of 3 inches (76.2 mm) pitch. It drives two pairs of overdrift French Burr 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 via a cast iron Wallower and Spur Wheel. The cast iron Tail Wheel is 4 feet (1.22 m) diameter. It drives a single pair of underdrift 3 in 4 in (1.02 m) diameter millstones via an Upright Shaft and Spur wheel.
Fantail
Ramsey Windmill was winded by a six-bladed roof mounted fantail, which blew off in 1939. The drive was down the back of the mill and thence to a ring set above the join of the quarterbars to the main post.Millers
- Robert Brooks 1842 - 1870
- Robert Brooks Jr 1870 -
- John Brooks 1887 -
- L Lungley - 1937
- R M Scott 1939
References for above:-
External links
- Windmill World webpage on Ramsey Windmill.