Black Mill or Barham Downs Mill was a smock mill at

Barham, Kent Barham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury district of Kent, England. Barham village is approximately south-east from Canterbury and north from Folkestone. History The name Barham was spelt ''Bioraham'' in 799, from ''B ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

which was accidentally burnt down in 1970 while under restoration.

History

left, The machinery displayed on the village green. ''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 Emanuel Bowen (1694 – 8 May 1767) was a Welsh map engraver, who achieved the unique distinction of becoming Royal Mapmaker to both to King George II of Great Britain and Louis XV of France. Bowen was highly regarded by his contemporaries for pr ...

'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 , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

map. The ''Black Mill'' was built by John Holman, the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

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 New Mill is a Grade II* listed smock mill in Hythe Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent. It stands just west of junction 10 of the M20 motorway. It was built in 1869 and is now a museum open to the public. History ''New Mill'' was built in 1869 ...

in 1946, and restored the mill in 1956. He was awarded a Windmill Certificate by the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...

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 is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

contributed £400 towards the restoration work. (original source Milling, 3 March 1956) The work included the replacement of two sails that had been blown off in a storm on 13 March 1951. (original source Milling, 24 March 1951) (original source Kent Messenger, 6 July 1956) The mill featured in the 1955 film "Raising a Riot" starring

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, Order of the British Empire#Current classes, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many ...

. 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 is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

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 sails Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails. Jib sails The jib sail is found in Mediterranean countries and consists of a simple triangle of cloth wound rou ...

mounted on a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

windshaft and was winded by a

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...

. The mill drove four pairs of

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

Millers

*E Lawrence, miller in 1845 * Henry Sturgess Pledge, miller in 1850, later working the Wind, Steam and Water mill at

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

. *Richard Walter *T Denne and Sons Ltd, millers in 1933, still in business at Hanover Mill,

Mersham Mersham is a mostly agricultural large village and civil parish near Ashford in Kent, England. The population of the civil parish includes the area of Cheesman's Green now known as Finberry. History In the mid 19th century, John Marius Wilson's ...

. *W Mannering

References

External links

Windmill World page
on the mill. {{Kent Windmills Windmills in Kent Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Smock mills in England Windmills completed in 1834 Octagonal buildings in the United Kingdom 1970 disasters in the United Kingdom 1970 fires 1970s fires in the United Kingdom Building and structure fires in England